contributor
Americannoun
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contributors
plural
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a person who contributes money, assistance, etc.
-
a person who contributes an article, story, etc., to a newspaper, magazine, or the like.
noun
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a person who contributes, esp one who writes for a newspaper or one who makes a donation to a cause, etc
-
something that is a factor in or is partly responsible for something
alcohol was a contributor to his death
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of contributor
1400–50; late Middle English contributour < Anglo-French. See contribute, -tor
Explanation
A contributor is someone who takes part in something or makes a contribution. Writers and people who donate money in particular are called contributors. Writers whose work is included in a book, magazine, or newspaper are called contributors. Some have specific titles like "contributing editor" or "contributing writer." If you give money for a cause or a company, that contribution also makes you a contributor. This word is used mainly for writing and donating, but it can be used in other cases for people who help with something. The surest way not to be called a contributor is to do nothing: contributors have to contribute.
Vocabulary lists containing contributor
"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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"CLEP Principles of Management," Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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"The American Pageant," Vocabulary from Chapters 40-42
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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.
See Examples For:
As Slate contributor Richard Hasen explained here, the truth is more complicated and far more speculative.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Before joining Fox News as a contributor in 2018, Compagno practiced law in criminal defense and civil litigation and later served as a federal managing attorney and acting director at the Social Security Administration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
In seven of the last 11 quarters, including estimates for the second quarter, Nvidia has been the biggest contributor to S&P 500 earnings growth, according to data from Seaport Research.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026
Initial claims for unemployment insurance – the second-largest positive contributor – fell in July compared with June, to its lowest level since September 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Don’t you want to be a contributor to our economy?
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Second-quarter earnings so far might be among the strongest on record — but companies like retailers and hotels haven’t been major contributors to the blowout performance.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
Coach Sean McVay does not play starters or other projected significant contributors during the preseason.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Among the most important contributors are heavy groundwater pumping, oil and gas extraction, the compression of relatively young sediments in river deltas, and the weight of expanding urban areas.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Her autopsy listed obesity, diabetes, and elevated environmental temperature as possible contributors.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
A fuller description of all the names and contributors lies outside the purview of this book.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
