donate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
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.
Donate life-saving plasma and get extra funds you can use to fill those Easter baskets!
From Slate • May 18, 2024
A donor family, Valerie Caparino, center, with her two daughters Rachel Caparino, left, and Melissa Suttipreechanun, works on Donate Life float “One Legacy” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2023
A CRC tweet directed to supporters may request, "Donate here to help those affected by the fires in Fort Murray," which may have resulted in more donor aid.
From Science Daily • Oct. 10, 2023
If you'd like to hear more stories like these, go to our website, Lost Women of Science.org, where you will also find the all-important "Donate" button.
From Scientific American • Sep. 28, 2023
In the same year and month, but before the aforesaid Brothers, and on the day before the Feast of St. Pancras, died the elder Wermbold, a Donate, who was born in Hasselt.
From The Chronicle of the Canons Regular of Mount St. Agnes by Arthur, J. P.
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.
