endowment
Americannoun
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the source of income with which an institution, etc, is endowed
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the income itself
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the act or process of endowing
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(usually plural) natural talents or qualities
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of endowment
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Anglo-French endowement; equivalent to endow + -ment
Explanation
An endowment is a gift. It might be money given to an institution like a college. Or, an endowment might be a natural gift, say of a physical attribute or a talent. If you lack the endowment of musical talent, you could play the tambourine. To endow means "to give or bequeath," and the background of the word endowment goes back to the 15th Century, where it was used to refer to money or property that is given to an institution. An example can be found in the National Endowment for the Arts, an organization dedicated to providing grants to fund artistic endeavors. Your natural endowments — speed, agility, endurance — make you an excellent soccer player. If only you could wake up in time for practice.
Vocabulary lists containing endowment
Giving Words
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The Federalist Papers, No. 10 by James Madison
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The Glass Menagerie
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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.
Discovered by Duke Ellington, the musician was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2019.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
“They’re saving on equipment but hemorrhaging men instead. The approach is yielding diminishing gains,” said Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
The NEH, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts, have been in the thick of it the whole time.
From Salon • May 11, 2026
Guest: Steven Feldstein, political scientist and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program.
From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026
Alger Hiss was the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, the nation's most prestigious research institute.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
