From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlost causelost causeFAILsomething that has no chance of succeeding Trying to interest my son in classical music is a lost cause. → lost
Examples from the Corpus
lost cause• At first it seemed the attempt to save the species was a lost cause.• That, however, is a lost cause.• The miners' strike of 1984 turned out to be a lost cause.• But they are not completely lost causes.• In recent years he had come to feel that he was pouring all his energies into a lost cause.• My patron saint was Saint Jude, the patron of lost causes.• Stand by your principles but don't waste time on lost causes.• It's seems that their marriage is a lost cause in which possess the husband and wife not real affection for one another.• Like the languages in which it was born, this seems a lost cause to many.• Like his rebel ancestor, Buchanan is fighting a lost cause with prideful determination despite overwhelming odds. 