noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of benefactor
1425–75; late Middle English benefactour < Late Latin; see bene-, factor
Explanation
Every school, museum, and struggling artist is in search for a generous benefactor, or someone to provide the financial means to keep everything running smoothly. The Latin roots of benefactor are bene, which means "well," and facere, which means "to do" — literally, "to do well." A benefactor does well by supporting (usually financially) a person or a good cause. In the old days, a struggling artist or actor might have been supported by a wealthy benefactor. Now, many struggling artists and actors have to rely on waiting tables and other odd jobs instead.
Vocabulary lists containing benefactor
Take the Bad with the Good: Bene and Mal
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Giving Words
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Make Do: Fac
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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.
See Examples For:
She believed the gold coins may have been hidden there four years ago by a mystery benefactor.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
So Amazon MGM Studios became the surprising benefactor, offering Guadagnino a $40 million budget—the same amount of cash it spent to acquire Melania—along with a 2027 release date.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Let’s say your benefactor bought the house for $500,000, and the house was worth $1.5 million when you inherited it.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
Fear of Covid triggered border closures that caused a plunge in trade with China, North Korea’s main benefactor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Only then did he permit them to bury him, not in any ordinary way, but with the honors reserved for Macondo's greatest benefactor.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The announcement "will include a series of measures to make political funding more transparent, including restrictions on donations from foreign-based benefactors", the paper says.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Supported by unnamed donors, he offers encouragement and religious-based morale boosts to politicians or their mutual benefactors.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
“I think the market is saying these financial companies are going to be the biggest benefactors of AI,” with margin and operational efficiency improvements, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026
India may be one of the greatest benefactors of the new global trading order.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
If Bobby could make millions, and if he continued tithing large amounts to the Church, he could emerge as one of the Church’s biggest benefactors.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
