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

When adults age 60 and older adopt a senior pet (7 years and older), the adoption fee will be paid by a Rancho Coastal Humane Society benefactor. —Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Nov. 2025

Kier played Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix’s benefactor Hans in 1991’s My Own Private Idaho. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025

Democrats saw him as a master of dark arts, beholden to his former pals in the oil industry and a warmonger who goaded the nation to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to help his benefactors. —Philip Elliott, Time, 20 Nov. 2025

Named after British imperialist and benefactor Cecil John Rhodes, the scholarship was established at Oxford in 1903. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2025

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