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

See Examples For:

contribution contributions

The first minister said it had come courtesy of the "remarkable contribution of the King" and a "Team Scotland" approach.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The court said at the time that could be counted as her contribution towards the couple's shared assets.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

This means models may be able to provide dependable estimates of Antarctica's contribution to sea level rise during the decades most important for adaptation planning.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Their own contributions have been pretty quick to slide in, in one case showing up the same day as the contribution.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

To Aboriginal Australia, isolated from Eurasia by the water barriers of the Indonesian Archipelago, Eurasia’s sole proven contribution was the dingo.

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

Although it overlaps with Christianity and Judaism, civil religion draws on the scientific and secular contributions that have also informed America’s public institutions, going beyond the “doctrines of any particular church.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

To that point, he’d only made smaller contributions, primarily to the club hockey and golf teams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Traditional IRA contributions can be tax-deductible, though that benefit is phased out for high-income earners.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Zelensky says he is still working out "what adjustments need to be made to Ukraine's defence strategy" and has thanked everyone "for their openness, honesty and substantive contributions".

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

I said that I had been privileged throughout my political life to fight alongside colleagues whose abilities and contributions were far greater than my own.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

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