almsgiving

American  

[ahlmz-giv-ing, ahmz-] / ˈɑlmzˌgɪv ɪŋ, ˈɑmz- /

noun

1. the act of donating money, food, or other items to people in need of them, especially as a spiritual practice.

   Almsgiving helps us experience giving freely, which leads to freedom from the obsession with possessing, freedom from the fear of losing what we have.

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Etymology

Origin of almsgiving

alms + giving

Example Sentences

It concludes a 40-day period known as Lent, during which Christians focus on prayer, almsgiving, and practice traditions such as abstinence from eating meat on certain days.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

We’re also supposed to practice almsgiving and assist those less fortunate than ourselves as a way of honoring Christ, who pointed out that giving so it costs you is the only way to give.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

While in Mecca he spent lavishly, contributing some 100,000 gold pieces to charity and related almsgiving programs.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Visitors can read about the five pillars of Islam — the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and hajj or pilgrimage — or learn about hajj rituals and different funerary practices in the Islamic world.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 9, 2022

Not long before that, he had thought of devoting himself entirely to charitable work, but practical experiments at Moscow demonstrated to him the futility of almsgiving.

From Prophets of Dissent : Essays on Maeterlinck, Strindberg, Nietzsche and Tolstoy by Heller, Otto