sponsor
[ spon-ser ]
/ ˈspɒn sər /
noun
a person who vouches or is responsible for a person or thing.
a person, firm, organization, etc., that finances and buys the time to broadcast a radio or television program so as to advertise a product, a political party, etc.
a person who makes a pledge or promise on behalf of another.
a person who answers for an infant at baptism, making the required professions and assuming responsibility for the child's religious upbringing; godfather or godmother.
verb (used with object)
to act as sponsor for; promise, vouch, or answer for.
Nearby words
Origin of sponsor
SYNONYMS FOR sponsor
Related formsspon·so·ri·al [spon-sawr-ee-uhl, -sohr-] /spɒnˈsɔr i əl, -ˈsoʊr-/, adjectivespon·sor·ship, nounun·spon·sored, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for sponsor
British Dictionary definitions for sponsor
sponsor
/ (ˈspɒnsə) /
noun
(a person or group that provides funds for an activity, esp)
- a commercial organization that pays all or part of the cost of putting on a concert, sporting event, etc
- a person who donates money to a charity when the person requesting the donation has performed a specified activity as part of an organized fund-raising effort
mainly US and Canadian a person or business firm that pays the costs of a radio or television programme in return for advertising time
a legislator who presents and supports a bill, motion, etc
Also called: godparent
- an authorized witness who makes the required promises on behalf of a person to be baptized and thereafter assumes responsibility for his Christian upbringing
- a person who presents a candidate for confirmation
mainly US a person who undertakes responsibility for the actions, statements, obligations, etc, of another, as during a period of apprenticeship; guarantor
verb
(tr) to act as a sponsor for
Derived Formssponsorial (spɒnˈsɔːrɪəl), adjectivesponsorship, noun
Word Origin for sponsor
C17: from Latin, from spondēre to promise solemnly
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sponsor
sponsor
1650s, from Late Latin sponsor "sponsor in baptism," in Latin "a surety, guarantee," from sponsus, past participle of spondere "give assurance, promise solemnly" (see spondee). Sense of "person who pays for a radio (or, after 1947, TV) program" is first recorded 1931. The verb is attested from 1884, "to favor or support;" commercial broadcasting sense is from 1931.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper