endow

American  

[en-dou] / ɛnˈdaʊ /

verb (used with object)

1. to provide with a permanent fund or source of income.

   to endow a college.

2. to furnish, as with some talent, faculty, or quality; equip.

   Nature has endowed her with great ability.

   Synonyms:

   endue, clothe, invest

3. Obsolete. to provide with a dower.

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verb (used without object)

1. (of a life-insurance policy) to become payable; yield its conditions.

endow British  

/ ɪnˈdaʊ /

verb

1. to provide with or bequeath a source of permanent income

2. (usually foll by with) to provide (with qualities, characteristics, etc)

3. obsolete to provide with a dower

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Other Word Forms

• endower
  noun
• reendow
  verb (used with object)
• superendow
  verb (used with object)
• unendowing
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of endow

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English endowen, from Old French endouer, equivalent to en- en- ¹ + douer, from Latin dōtāre “to dower,” equivalent to dōt- (stem of dōs ) “dowry” + -āre infinitive suffix

Explanation

To endow is to furnish, but not with furniture. If you've been endowed with something, it means you've been given a gift — most likely a gift that can't be returned or exchanged, like a sense of humor or athletic ability or trust. We usually use endow to refer to an ability or a quality, but you can endow someone with money, too. Endow is related to the word dowry, which is a gift that a man — or sometimes a woman — receives from his or her fiancé’s family before the wedding. The practice of giving dowries has fallen out of fashion in most Western countries, but there are still many parts of the world where it's common for the bride's family to provide the groom with an endowment of land and livestock.

Example Sentences

Askell’s aim is to endow Claude with a sense of morality—a digital soul that guides the millions of conversations it has with people every week.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

Christopher Mowod can’t quite endow this “sad man in a blanket,” as Simon dubs his bundled-up bandmate, with the same level of fey madness that Brill was able to entertainingly supply.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025

For breeders to make use of that diversity, however, they need to know which landraces could endow wheat with potentially desirable traits.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 16, 2024

Many people know fish sauce from Asian cuisines, where it is used to endow dishes with umami.

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2024

The effectiveness of the suffragist and temperance movements would endow American women with more power than they had ever known.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• bestow
• donate
• empower
• enable
• enhance
• enrich
• subsidize