benefactor

noun

ben·​e·​fac·​tor ˈbe-nə-ˌfak-tər 

: someone or something that provides help or an advantage : one that confers a benefit

a benefactor of humankind

especially : a person who makes a gift or bequest

His endowments … placed him high among the benefactors of the convent.

—Jane Austen

a wealthy benefactor

Did you know?

A benefactor may be involved in almost any field. One may endow a scholarship fund; another may give money to expand a library; still another may leave a generous sum to a hospital in her will. The famous benefactions of John D. Rockefeller included the gifts that established the University of Chicago, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Rockefeller University. Many benefactors have reported that giving away their money turned out to be the most rewarding thing they ever did.

Synonyms of benefactor

• donor
• donator

Examples of benefactor in a Sentence

With the help of a rich benefactor he set up a charity.

an anonymous benefactor gave the school a dozen new computers

Recent Examples on the Web

Schrage was a major benefactor to his alma mater, Valparaiso University, which named him to its Hall of Honor in 1985 and gave him an honorary doctorate the following year. — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026

The park around the corner lists one of its benefactors as Todd Graves, the LSU donor and CEO of the Raising Cane’s chicken fingers empire. — Matt Baker, New York Times, 17 July 2026

The Zimmerli Art Museum, the fine arts museum of Rutgers University in New Jersey, has just received a gift of more than seventy noteworthy works of modern and contemporary art from Anne and Arthur Goldstein, longtime benefactors of the institution. — News Desk, Artforum, 16 July 2026

But an inconclusive war with Iran; a failure to defeat Hamas or Hezbollah; and a falling out with Washington, Israel’s essential benefactor, have left Netanyahu exposed. — Ian Bremmer, Time, 14 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for benefactor

• chiropractor
• malefactor
• multifactor
• subcontractor
• acter
• actor
• factor
• tractor
• attractor
• cofactor
• compactor
• contactor

Kids Definition

benefactor

noun

bene·​fac·​tor

ˈben-ə-ˌfak-tər

: one who helps another especially by giving money