donor

American  

[doh-ner] / ˈdoʊ nər /

noun

donors plural

1. a person who gives or donates.

   Synonyms:

   patron, sponsor, contributor, supporter

2. Medicine/Medical. a person or animal providing blood, an organ, bone marrow cells, or other biological tissue for transfusion or transplantation.

3. Law. a person who gives property by gift, legacy, or devise, or who confers a power of appointment.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the biological tissue of a donor.

   donor organ.

donor British  

/ ˈdəʊnə /

noun

1. a person who makes a donation

2. med any person who voluntarily gives blood, skin, a kidney etc, for use in the treatment of another person

3. law

   1. a person who makes a gift of property

   2. a person who bestows upon another a power of appointment over property

4. the atom supplying both electrons in a coordinate bond

5. an impurity, such as antimony or arsenic, that is added to a semiconductor material in order to increase its n-type conductivity by contributing free electrons Compare acceptor

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donor Scientific  

/ dō′nər /

1. An atom or molecule that releases one or more electrons to another atom or molecule, resulting in a chemical bond or flow of electric current.

2. Compare acceptor See also electron carrier

3. An individual from whom blood, tissue, or an organ is taken for transfusion, implantation, or transplant.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• donorship
  noun
• predonor
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• donors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of donor

1400–50; late Middle English donour < Anglo-French ( Old French doneur ) < Latin dōnātor, equivalent to dōnā ( re ) ( see donation) + -tor -tor

Explanation

A donor is a person who donates something of value to a person or an organization, especially a charity. A wealthy donor might leave her book collection to the local library in her will. Buildings on college campuses are frequently named after generous donors — if you give millions of dollars to your school, they might name the new library after you, crediting you as a donor. Another kind of donor gives blood that can be used for transfusions, or agrees to donate organs after his or her death. Donor comes from the Latin root donare, "give as a gift."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

donor donors

A donor writes a check to their congregation.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

The elder Ellison, one of the world's richest men, is a close ally of Trump and a major donor to his political campaigns.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

The study examined valve tissue from 66 patients undergoing replacement for severe aortic stenosis and compared it with normal donor valves.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

Pritzker, a billionaire former Aipac donor, declined an interview.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Whatever was given by Black people to other Blacks was most probably needed as desperately by the donor as by the receiver.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

He pushed to make the accounts a vessel for big-ticket philanthropy and believes donors will contribute $100 billion to the effort over the next year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

"We are urging all partners, donors... to fast-track the disbursement of those resources."

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

At Santa Clara University School of Law, where tuition is roughly $66,000 a year for full-time students and $52,000 for part-time, Dean Michael Kaufman said he asked donors to step up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

Filippenko acknowledged financial support from Christopher R. Redlich and many other donors.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

The others were sustained on stipends from donors such as the National Research Council and the Rockefeller Foundation, or were paid out of unallocated grants made to the Rad Lab by the same bodies.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• backer
• benefactor
• contributor
• patron