due to
Usage Note: Due to has been widely used for many years as a compound preposition like owing to, but some critics have insisted that due should be used only as an adjective. According to this view, it is incorrect to say The concert was canceled due to the rain, but acceptable to say The cancellation of the concert was due to the rain, where due continues to function as an adjective modifying cancellation. Although there is still some support for this notion among members of the Usage Panel, the tide has turned toward accepting due to as a full-fledged preposition. Back in 1966, the "adverbial" use of due to (as in was canceled due to the rain) was rejected by 84 percent of the Panel. In our 2001 survey, however, 60 percent accepted this construction. There is no linguistic reason to avoid using due to as a preposition, but English has a variety of ready substitutes, including because of, on account of, and owing to.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
due to
If an event is due to something, it happens or exists as a direct result of it.
His death was due to natural causes.
My desire to act was due to Laurence Olivier's performance in 'Hamlet'.
Due to is sometimes used to introduce the reason for an undesirable situation.
Due to repairs, the garage will be closed next Saturday.
The flight has been delayed one hour, due to weather conditions.
This use is fairly common, but some people object to it. Instead of saying 'due to', you can say owing to or because of.
Owing to the heavy rainfall many of the roads were impassable.
I missed my flight owing to a traffic hold-up.
Because of the law in Ireland, we had to work out a way of getting her over to Britain.
Police closed the Strand because of smoke billowing over the road.
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