stipend

American  

[stahy-pend] / ˈstaɪ pɛnd /

noun

• stipends
  plural

1. a periodic payment, especially a scholarship or fellowship allowance granted to a student.

2. fixed or regular pay; salary.

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stipend British  

/ ˈstaɪpɛnd /

noun

1. a fixed or regular amount of money paid as a salary or allowance, as to a clergyman

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Synonym Usage

See pay ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stipendless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stipends
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of stipend

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English stipendie, from Latin stīpendium “soldier's pay,” syncopated variant of *stipipendium, equivalent to stipi-, combining form of stips a coin + pend(ere) “to weigh out, pay” ( see pend) + -ium noun suffix ( see -ium)

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Compare meaning

How does stipend compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• stipend vs. salary

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Explanation

A stipend is a fixed, regular payment, usually meant to pay for something specific. It's kind of like an allowance, but for grownups — a college scholarship might include a stipend each semester for books, for example. Coming from the Latin stipendium, which means “tax, pay, or gift,” the noun stipend is defined as a regular, unchanging payment usually given as reward for services, but sometimes given as an allowance with no services or expectations attached. A summer internship that does not offer a full salary might instead include a weekly stipend that covers transportation and lunch costs. Synonyms include salary and payment.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stipend stipends

Unlike most high-level presidential appointees, the Arctic commission chair — who is eligible only for a stipend of up to about $55,000 a year — is not a federal employee under the law.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

While residents have no salaries or pay no taxes, they do receive a kind of monthly stipend of just over 200 euros in exchange for a minimum of six hours of work per day.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

As a Vietnam War veteran, Bo Kemper gets a stipend from the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

They also moved from a volunteer-run organization with a yearly stipend for employees to a paid model because, said Den Herder, “You can’t keep staff if you’re not paying them.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

This was perhaps unduly harsh; Lawrence’s effort to secure Livingston another year’s stipend through Crocker’s medical school donation attested to the esteem he held for this particular pair of arms.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Academy Group’s mission is to get thousands of children into college and well-paid jobs with tutoring vouchers, academic stipends and sponsored internships, and it so far has a 90% college graduation rate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Perhaps — if such a program were enacted at the federal level — the brilliant idea of targeting Medicaid coverage could be combined with some opt-in option, perhaps with smaller stipends.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

The research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Canada Research Chair research stipends.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 2, 2026

Sharmina Siraj, a mother of two, called Zia "an inspiration", noting that stipends introduced by the former leader to improve women's education made a "huge impact" on her daughters.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025

The others were sustained on stipends from donors such as the National Research Council and the Rockefeller Foundation, or were paid out of unallocated grants made to the Rad Lab by the same bodies.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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Related Words

• allowance
• fee
• gratuity
• pension
• salary
• wage

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