donate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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donatesimple
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donatessimple
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have donatedperfect
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has donatedperfect
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am donatingprogressive
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are donatingprogressive
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is donatingprogressive
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have been donatingperfect progressive
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has been donatingperfect progressive
Past
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donatedsimple
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had donatedperfect
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was donatingprogressive
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were donatingprogressive
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had been donatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of donate
1775–85, probably back formation from donation
Explanation
To donate means to give something — money, goods, or time — to some cause, such as a charity. The word has a more altruistic meaning than does simply "giving"; it suggests that you don't expect anything in return for the contribution. The verb donate has always meant "to give," all the way back to the Latin verb donāre, "to give as a gift." Trace it back even further, to the ancient Indo-European roots, and you still have that same feeling to the word — "a gift." But it's more than a gift — it's a gift with the intention of helping. As an African proverb says, "If everybody in town donates one thread, the poor man has a shirt."
Vocabulary lists containing donate
Giving Words
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Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 15–October 21, 2022
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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.
Individuals are limited in how much money they can donate annually to political parties – $10,000 to state and local party committees and $44,300 to national party committees, as of 2025.
From Salon • Jul. 2, 2026
Companies agreed to donate over 50 million eggs to resolve an antitrust investigation focused on a period when prices reached record highs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
“If someone won money in gambling with our fate, I would hope that they might be ashamed of themselves,” she said, “and take that money and donate it directly to fire survivors.”
From Slate • Jun. 30, 2026
"They said 'We are going to donate £20,000 to you'."
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
Their discovery: when people are given a small stipend for donating blood rather than simply being praised for their altruism, they tend to donate less blood.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
