endow
Americanverb
-
to provide with or bequeath a source of permanent income
-
(usually foll by with) to provide (with qualities, characteristics, etc)
-
obsolete to provide with a dower
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
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.
The 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. 9, 2026
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
It reminds us that Puccini, who was always searching to endow his scores with “local color,” didn’t just compose exotic-seeming, faux-Asian tunes for his operas, but also sought out actual Asian examples.
From New York Times • Apr. 2, 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
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.
