benefactor
noun
ben·e·fac·tor
ˈbe-nə-ˌfak-tər 
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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.
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
And freed from the client-benefactor relationship that aid engenders, African nations are insisting upon local processing and refining to retain more of the downstream benefits.
—
Charlie Campbell, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Over Hanai’s objections, the House of Tanba-ya’s corporate benefactor (Kyusaku Shimada) books them into a large theater, and soon their onnagata-duo novelty has given them a kind of boy-band heartthrob popularity.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
The species was named in honor of Johanna Rebecca Senckenberg (1716–1743), a benefactor whose support for science and medicine helped lay the foundation for the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
The second-most popular reason, at 28%, was not having a relationship with their benefactors’ advisor.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2025
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Charlie Campbell, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Over Hanai’s objections, the House of Tanba-ya’s corporate benefactor (Kyusaku Shimada) books them into a large theater, and soon their onnagata-duo novelty has given them a kind of boy-band heartthrob popularity.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
The species was named in honor of Johanna Rebecca Senckenberg (1716–1743), a benefactor whose support for science and medicine helped lay the foundation for the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
The second-most popular reason, at 28%, was not having a relationship with their benefactors’ advisor.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for benefactor
Cite this Entry
“Benefactor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/benefactor. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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