noun
Other Word Forms
- benefactress noun
Etymology
Origin of benefactor
1425–75; late Middle English benefactour < Late Latin; bene-, factor
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.
A big benefactor of the safety car to allow him a cheap pit stop and get up into the points and keep Esteban Ocon at bay for P9.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
By the time Sedaka released “Laughter in the Rain” in 1974, he had severed ties with 10cc and found a new benefactor in Elton John.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
Cuban is facing its most serious economic crisis since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, its principal benefactor.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History began in 1893 but was renamed in 1905, a year before its main benefactor, Marshall Field, passed away.
From Slate • Dec. 20, 2025
One further bond it established—you cannot steal from your benefactor.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
