contribution

American  

[kon-truh-byoo-shuhn] / ˌkɒn trəˈbju ʃən /

noun

contributions plural

1. the act of contributing.

2. something contributed.

   Synonyms:

   benefaction, donation, gift

3. an article, story, drawing, etc., furnished to a magazine or other publication.

4. an impost or levy.

5. Insurance. the method of distributing liability, in case of loss, among several insurers whose policies attach to the same risk.

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contribution British  

/ ˌkɒntrɪˈbjuːʃən /

noun

1. the act of contributing

2. something contributed, such as money or ideas

3. an article, story, etc, contributed to a newspaper or other publication

4. insurance a portion of the total liability incumbent on each of two or more companies for a risk with respect to which all of them have issued policies

5. archaic a levy, esp towards the cost of a war

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncontribution
  noun
• overcontribution
  noun
• precontribution
  noun
• supercontribution
  noun
• contributional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• contributions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of contribution

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English contribucio(u)n, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin contribūtiōn-, stem of contribūtiō “payment, distribution,” literally, “a bringing together,” equivalent to contribūt(us) “brought together” (past participle of contribuere; see contribute) + -iō -ion

Explanation

When you make a contribution, it means you're giving something away — whether it's your money, your possessions, or your time. A contribution can take many forms. Some contributions are measurable, like a $10 donation to the Salvation Army. Others are less tangible. When a student raises his hand in class to ask a question, he's making a contribution, because the answer to his question enriches the other students' learning experience.

Example Sentences

His greatest contribution was drawing the foul that led to Malik Tillman’s free kick goal to make it 1-1 in the first half.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026

Parents could begin making contributions beginning on July 4, and babies born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, will get a $1,000 contribution from the government.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 6, 2026

"It's important to Nato, it's important to Britain that we...demonstrate the sort of leadership that's required from within the European Nato as the US starts to scale back its contribution," he said.

From BBC • Jul. 6, 2026

Their employers first have to increase the maximum contribution to this amount.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 6, 2026

Such increased competition among plants themselves made a major contribution to larger seed size and to many other changes developing during the transformation of wild plants into ancient crops.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• addition
• donation
• grant
• improvement
• increase
• input