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Synonyms

endow

American  
[en-dou] / ɛnˈdaʊ /

verb (used with object)

  1. to provide with a permanent fund or source of income.

    to endow a college.

  2. to furnish, as with some talent, faculty, or quality; equip.

    Nature has endowed her with great ability.
    Synonyms:
    endue, clothe, invest

  3. Obsolete. to provide with a dower.

verb (used without object)

  1. (of a life-insurance policy) to become payable; yield its conditions.

endow British  
/ ɪnˈdaʊ /

verb

  1. to provide with or bequeath a source of permanent income

  2. (usually foll by with) to provide (with qualities, characteristics, etc)

  3. obsolete to provide with a dower

"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

  • endower noun
  • reendow verb (used with object)
  • superendow verb (used with object)
  • unendowing adjective

Etymology

Origin of endow

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English endowen, from Old French endouer, equivalent to en- en- 1 + douer, from Latin dōtāre “to dower,” equivalent to dōt- (stem of dōs ) “dowry” + -āre infinitive suffix

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.

David A. Duffield, the founder of PeopleSoft and Workday, is giving $371.5 million to Cornell University, largely to endow the Ivy League school’s engineering college, which will be named after him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

For breeders to make use of that diversity, however, they need to know which landraces could endow wheat with potentially desirable traits.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 16, 2024

Many people know fish sauce from Asian cuisines, where it is used to endow dishes with umami.

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2024

But its critics didn’t reckon with Brackpool’s ability to endow his firm with political supporters.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2024

“And so you shall, like an angel as you are!” cried Laurie, resolving, with a glow of philanthropic zeal, to found and endow an institution for the express benefit of young women with artistic tendencies.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.