sponsor

[ spon-ser ]
See synonyms for: sponsorsponsoredsponsoringsponsors on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person who vouches or is responsible for a person or thing.

  2. 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.

  1. a person who makes a pledge or promise on behalf of another.

  2. Christianity. a person who promises to mentor a youth or new convert preparing for confirmation or initiation, or who answers for an infant at baptism.

verb (used with object)
  1. to act as sponsor for; promise, vouch, or answer for.

Origin of sponsor

1
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin spōnsor “guarantor,” equivalent to spond(ēre) “to pledge” + -tor -tor, with dt becoming s

Other words for sponsor

Other words from sponsor

  • spon·so·ri·al [spon-sawr-ee-uhl], /spɒnˈsɔr i əl/, adjective
  • spon·sor·ship, noun
  • un·spon·sored, adjective

Words Nearby sponsor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sponsor in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sponsor

sponsor

/ (ˈspɒnsə) /


noun
  1. (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

  2. mainly US and Canadian a person or business firm that pays the costs of a radio or television programme in return for advertising time

  1. a legislator who presents and supports a bill, motion, etc

  2. 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

  3. mainly US a person who undertakes responsibility for the actions, statements, obligations, etc, of another, as during a period of apprenticeship; guarantor

verb
  1. (tr) to act as a sponsor for

Origin of sponsor

1
C17: from Latin, from spondēre to promise solemnly

Derived forms of sponsor

  • sponsorial (spɒnˈsɔːrɪəl), adjective
  • sponsorship, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012