Jump To:

• charity
  charity

  noun

  generous actions or donations to aid people who are poor, ill, or needy.
• Charity
  Charity

  noun

  a female given name.

charity

¹ American  

[char-i-tee] / ˈtʃær ɪ ti /

noun

• charities
  plural

1. generous actions or donations to aid people who are poor, ill, or needy.

   to devote one's life to charity.

2. something given to a person or persons in need; alms.

   She asked for work, not charity.

3. a charitable act or work.

4. a charitable fund, foundation, or institution.

   He left his estate to a charity.

5. benevolent feeling, especially toward those in need or in disfavor.

   She looked so hungry that we fed her out of charity.

   Synonyms:

   aid, philanthropy, altruism, almsgiving, quarter, mercy, indulgence, lenity, leniency, clemency, sympathy, pity, benignity, humanity, goodwill, compassion, kindness, kindliness, benevolence, donation, dole, contribution, beneficence, benefaction

   Antonyms:

   malevolence

6. leniency in judging others; forbearance.

   She was inclined to view our selfish behavior with charity.

7. Christian love; agape.

---

Charity ² American  

[char-i-tee] / ˈtʃær ɪ ti /

noun

1. a female given name.

---

charity British  

/ ˈtʃærɪtɪ /

noun

1. 1. the giving of help, money, food, etc, to those in need

   2. ( as modifier )

      a charity show

2. 1. an institution or organization set up to provide help, money, etc, to those in need

   2. ( as modifier )

      charity funds

3. the help, money, etc, given to the needy; alms

4. a kindly and lenient attitude towards people

5. love of one's fellow men

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overcharity
  noun
• charityless
  adjective
• procharity
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• charities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of charity

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English charite, from Old French charite, cherite, from Latin cāritāt- (stem of cāritās “high price, costliness, dearness, affection, esteem”), equivalent to cār(us) “costly, dear” + -itāt- noun suffix; see cherish, Kama, caress; see also -ity

Explanation

Charity is the donation of something, like money, to a cause or person in need. Before offering charity to someone, make sure he is, in fact, needy, and not just some fashion fiend dressed like a homeless person! Charity comes in many forms including monetary donation, volunteering, or providing clothes and food for those less fortunate. The Greek poet Homer said, “The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others.” Think of charity, then, as something that may cost you a little, but can benefit someone else greatly. Charity also refers to a nice way to treat people, an organization that helps people, or a plant with blue and white flowers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

charity Charity charities

Another initiative aims to distribute one million tzedaka boxes, containers used to collect charity money, in memory of another alumnus who made daily giving part of his life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Kazarian worked on a project for Yerevan for Habitat for Humanity Armenia and helped build homes for charity, according to the local outlet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Mohammed, a 33-year-old charity worker who fled from Mocha to the city of Aden, told AFP that "people there are terrified" of the Houthis.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

Steinbrenner countered by hiring Roy Cohn—lawyer, notorious fixer and another mentor to Mr. Trump—to dig into Mr. Winfield’s charity, and Howard Spira—a former FBI mob informant—to dig up dirt on Mr. Winfield.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

It was as though I was living the life of some other person and had come to this house to call for a subscription to a charity.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Charity leaders have said the changes were to reach more students, not to cut funding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

After the ruling, the Charity Commission said its disqualification of Campbell had been made on the "evidence available to us at the time".

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

The Charity Commission watchdog had banned Campbell in 2024 after identifying "multiple instances of misconduct" at her charity, Fashion for Relief.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Charity Breast Cancer Now said that while campaigners' "persistence paid off", thousands of people have missed out on access to Enhertu and many have died.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

When Charity first learned to drive back in the sixties, she was taught to leave one car length between you and the car ahead of you for every ten miles per hour you’re traveling.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Although consignment shops and charities like Goodwill, Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity’s Restore shops often accept furniture donations, they typically only want clean, unbroken and new or gently used pieces that they can sell.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Under the rules that took effect last week, charities controlled by wealthy people—with Treasury Department approval—can put individual stocks into the accounts of thousands or millions of children.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

As part of her recovery and healing, Pritchett now raises money for knife crime prevention charities.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

It was dissolved and removed from the register of charities in 2024.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

PIH was flooded with requests for advice and information, from ministries of health and consultants and charities from every continent, about creating such a program in their backyards.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

• donation
• endowment
• fund
• philanthropy