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Synonyms

contributor

American  
[kuhn-trib-yuh-ter] / kənˈtrɪb yə tər /

noun

  1. a person who contributes money, assistance, etc.

  2. a person who contributes an article, story, etc., to a newspaper, magazine, or the like.


contributor British  
/ kənˈtrɪbjʊtə /

noun

  1. a person who contributes, esp one who writes for a newspaper or one who makes a donation to a cause, etc

  2. something that is a factor in or is partly responsible for something

    alcohol was a contributor to his death

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of contributor

1400–50; late Middle English contributour < Anglo-French. See contribute, -tor

Explanation

A contributor is someone who takes part in something or makes a contribution. Writers and people who donate money in particular are called contributors. Writers whose work is included in a book, magazine, or newspaper are called contributors. Some have specific titles like "contributing editor" or "contributing writer." If you give money for a cause or a company, that contribution also makes you a contributor. This word is used mainly for writing and donating, but it can be used in other cases for people who help with something. The surest way not to be called a contributor is to do nothing: contributors have to contribute.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing contributor

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Contributor Andrew said: "Wood is running around and scoring like a prime Christian Vieri this season. His abilities have always been under-rated in English football."

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2024

Former Rutgers Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer was honored before the game for being named a 2024 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Basketball.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2024

The researchers used a computer program to comb through the statements—which are assembled using a standard approach called Contributor Roles Taxonomy, or CRediT—and see whether each author satisfied two commonly referenced sets of authorship standards.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 28, 2022

Now she was doing it again, this time as a Contributor, with 500 of the tiny blue pots of gingkoes.

From Slate • Apr. 30, 2022

Thackeray wrote Mr. Punch's Prize Novelists and the Snob Papers; and Thackeray was the "Fat Contributor;" and there has been no one like Thackeray since he left the paper.

From Americanisms and Briticisms with other essays on other isms by Matthews, Brander

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