contribution

American  

[kon-truh-byoo-shuhn] / ˌkɒn trəˈbju ʃən /

noun

• contributions
  plural

1. 

   the act of contributing.

2. something contributed.

   Synonyms:

   benefaction, donation, gift

3. an article, story, drawing, etc., furnished to a magazine or other publication.

4. an impost or levy.

5. Insurance. the method of distributing liability, in case of loss, among several insurers whose policies attach to the same risk.

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contribution British  

/ ˌkɒntrɪˈbjuːʃən /

noun

1. the act of contributing

2. something contributed, such as money or ideas

3. an article, story, etc, contributed to a newspaper or other publication

4. insurance a portion of the total liability incumbent on each of two or more companies for a risk with respect to which all of them have issued policies

5. archaic a levy, esp towards the cost of a war

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncontribution
  noun
• overcontribution
  noun
• precontribution
  noun
• supercontribution
  noun
• contributional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• contributions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of contribution

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English contribucio(u)n, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin contribūtiōn-, stem of contribūtiō “payment, distribution,” literally, “a bringing together,” equivalent to contribūt(us) “brought together” (past participle of contribuere; see contribute) + -iō -ion

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Explanation

When you make a contribution, it means you're giving something away — whether it's your money, your possessions, or your time. A contribution can take many forms. Some contributions are measurable, like a $10 donation to the Salvation Army. Others are less tangible. When a student raises his hand in class to ask a question, he's making a contribution, because the answer to his question enriches the other students' learning experience.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

contribution contributions

"When a pub does close, it's not just the front door that's closing, it's the heritage, the culture, the economic contribution to society and the social value."

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Results in its integrated power division will reflect the contribution from its electricity production joint venture with Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The plaintiffs want Shell to pay for that additional intensity in proportion to its contribution to global emissions: two percent of the 12 percent increase.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Goldman estimates the contribution of the AI phenomenon to be about 45 basis points, or 0.45%.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Hopefully, this can be like group work during regular classes where the other two people do the talking and my contribution is to not yell or throw up on anything.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

Nomura’s focus is on box office revenue from Toho’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” film, which is scheduled for release in November, and earnings contributions from Toho’s “The Apothecary Diaries” anime series.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

In fact, when you take his total goal contributions of 24, he provided at a more prolific rate than every substitute in Premier League history - bar Edin Dzeko and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

I believe this is fair, given Son #1’s years of service and contributions.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

As a result, the two paths interfered destructively, meaning their quantum contributions canceled each other out.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

“But, honey, the truth of the matter is we don’t really do anything that folks can see. Our contributions are behind the scenes.”

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

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Related Words

• addition
• donation
• grant
• improvement
• increase
• input

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