crowdfunding

American  

[kraud-fuhn-ding] / ˈkraʊdˌfʌn dɪŋ /

Or crowd-funding

noun

1. the activity or process of raising money from a large number of people, typically through a website, as for a project or small business.

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Other Word Forms

• crowdfund
  verb (used with or without object)
• crowdfunded
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of crowdfunding

First recorded in 2005–10; crowd ¹ + fund + -ing ¹

Explanation

Crowdfunding is raising money online for a business or project. Most successful crowdfunding ventures get donations from a large number of people. If you've always wanted to open a bookstore but don't have the money to buy books and rent a space, you could try crowdfunding. Online platforms allow would-be entrepreneurs to describe their business ideas and invite people to donate. Crowdfunding is used to raise money for art projects, travel, and medical expenses that aren't covered by insurance. The term dates from around 2010, coined from crowd, "large group of people," and fund, "supply with money."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crowdfunding

They are similar to crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, but the money is pooled from employers’ and sometimes co-workers’ donations.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

Some funding also comes from private donations and crowdfunding, she added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Last week, he launched a crowdfunding campaign for legal fees to "locate and safeguard" the explorer.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

On the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, Garibay described her daughter as an amazing soul with “a radiant heart.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

It operates a rewards program for gamers called SuperPower that is essentially a version of clean-energy crowdfunding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026