alms

American  

[ahmz] / ɑmz /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. money, food, or other donations given to people in need; anything given as charity.

   She showed her generosity by giving alms regularly.

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alms British  

/ ɑːmz /

plural noun

1. charitable donations of money or goods to the poor or needy

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Etymology

Origin of alms

First recorded before 1000; Middle English almes, almesse, Old English ælmesse (compare Old Saxon alamōsna, Old High German alamuosa, Dutch aalmoes; Old Spanish almosna ), ultimately derived from Late Latin eleēmosyna, from Greek eleēmosýnē “compassion, alms,” derivative of éleos “pity”; eleemosynary

Example Sentences

In my view, there’s no contradiction because wearing ashes in public, unlike righteous acts of giving alms, fasting and praying in public, is a sign that we are sinners and in need of repentance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Mr Noor, who is now distributing alms and charity in his hometown along with his wife, is just grateful to have escaped the situation with his life.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2025

Like giving alms, his congregants should give waqf, a kind of religious donation, to renewable energy.

From New York Times • Apr. 17, 2024

Should you give solace to the meek, alms to the poor, comfort the shunned people Jesus surrounded himself with and advocated for again and again?

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2023

They knew his clumsy abortions and the little brown pennies he gave sparingly for alms.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck