benefactor

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noun ben·e·fac·tor \ ˈbe-nə-ˌfak-tər \

Definition of benefactor

: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

See benefactor defined for English-language learners

See benefactor defined for kids

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 of benefactor from the Web

China is widely seen as critical to any resolution to the nuclear crisis because of its outsize role as North Korea’s main economic benefactor.

— jane perlez and peter baker, New York Times, "Trump Eyes China Sanctions While Seeking Its Help on North Korea," 12 Aug. 2017
A spokeswoman for Indivisible Kentucky said the funds were raised by the group as well as an anonymous benefactor.

— thomas novelly, The Courier-Journal, "Anti-Trump group Indivisible Kentucky blasts Mitch McConnell on billboards," 27 July 2017
An anonymous benefactor has added $45,000 to the $5,000 reward money being offered for information leading to an arrest in the murder of a college professor found shot to death in a Naperville school parking lot, Naperville police said.

— bill bird, Naperville Sun, "Anonymous donor puts up $45k reward in professor murder case," 26 July 2017
Desmond Boylan AP With Cuban ally Venezuela in economic crisis, steady oil supplies from the island’s benefactor are in question.

— mimi whitefield, miamiherald, "Tourism lifts Cuban economy but overall outlook is cloudy," 24 July 2017
Initial friendliness typically encourages the victim to let down their guard and think of the perpetrator as a mentor, benefactor, romantic interest, or friend.

— emma sarran webster, Allure, "What Is Sexual Grooming? 7 Things to Know About This Abuse Tactic," 19 July 2017
On one side, conservative lawmakers and powerful benefactors like the Koch brothers are pushing to eliminate regulations and reduce outlays to programs like Medicaid.

— charlotte alter, Time, "The United Patients of America," 13 July 2017
One of the benefactors was Clevinger, who gave up one run on two hits, but walked five, in six innings that day.

— kirkland crawford, Detroit Free Press, "How to watch tonight's Detroit Tigers-Cleveland Indians game," 8 July 2017
Great moments can obviously occur from close range, but Djiby was the benefactor of great balls played into better positions.

— patrick brennan and charlie hatch, Cincinnati.com, "Debate: The best single-game performance in FC Cincy history," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'benefactor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.