crowdsource

[kroud-sawrs, -sohrs]

verb (used with or without object), crowd·sourced, crowd·sourc·ing.

to utilize (labor, information, etc.) contributed by the general public to (a project), often via the Internet and without compensation: The team's use of Facebook to crowdsource accurate scientific data allowed the project to be completed on time. The newspaper crowdsourced its investigation into the scandal.

Origin of crowdsource

First recorded in 2006; crowd¹ + (out)source

Related formscrowd·sourc·ing, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for crowdsource

Contemporary Examples of crowdsource

Earlier this month, Mosaic started a new initiative to crowdsource solar arrays on schools.
My Latest Investment: The Sun
Daniel Gross
June 18, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for crowdsource

crowdsource

verb

to outsource work to an unspecified group of people, typically by making an appeal to the general public on the internet

Derived Formscrowdsourcing, noun

Word Origin for crowdsource

c21: from crowd + (out)source

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012