donor

[doh-ner]

noun

1. a person who gives or donates.

   Synonyms: patron, sponsor, contributor, supporter

2. Medicine/Medical.,  a person or animal providing blood, an organ, bone marrow cells, or other biological tissue for transfusion or transplantation.

3. Law.,  a person who gives property by gift, legacy, or devise, or who confers a power of appointment.

adjective

1. of or relating to the biological tissue of a donor.

   donor organ.

donor

/ ˈdəʊnə /

noun

1. a person who makes a donation

2. med any person who voluntarily gives blood, skin, a kidney etc, for use in the treatment of another person

3. law

   1. a person who makes a gift of property

   2. a person who bestows upon another a power of appointment over property

4. the atom supplying both electrons in a coordinate bond

5. an impurity, such as antimony or arsenic, that is added to a semiconductor material in order to increase its n-type conductivity by contributing free electrons Compare acceptor

donor

1. An atom or molecule that releases one or more electrons to another atom or molecule, resulting in a chemical bond or flow of electric current.

2. Compare acceptor See also electron carrier

3. An individual from whom blood, tissue, or an organ is taken for transfusion, implantation, or transplant.

Other Word Forms

• donorship noun
• predonor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of donor¹

1400–50; late Middle English donour < Anglo-French ( Old French doneur ) < Latin dōnātor, equivalent to dōnā ( re ) ( donation ) + -tor -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of donor¹

C15: from Old French doneur, from Latin dōnātor, from dōnāre to give

Example Sentences

Often, that’s because they are removed from the experience of working-class and poor Americans, or because they are caught between what their voters want and what their donors want.

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Bondi again refused to answer, instead accusing Whitehouse of hypocrisy for accepting campaign donations from “one of Epstein’s closest confidants,” a reference to Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.

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House Majority PAC, the second-largest donor, aims to elect Democrats to the U.S.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The White House has not yet made public any details about a formal investigation into donors, but Leavitt said the administration’s efforts are underway.

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Signaling and cultivating wealthy donors by cooperating with lengthy profiles in mainstream media publications like the New York Times.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• backer 
• benefactor 
• contributor 
• patron