"Cause of death" is a phrase used by police, doctors, and the government. It means the official reason that someone died. This reason is printed on the dead person's death certificate.

A person's "cause of death" is written by doctors, so it includes a lot of detailed medical terminology. But when people discuss someone's "cause of death" in normal conversation, we talk about things like:

• heart attack
• head trauma (getting hit in the head)
• murder
• suicide