contribution

noun con·tri·bu·tion \ ˌkän-trə-ˈbyü-shən \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

1 : a payment (such as a levy or tax) imposed by military, civil, or ecclesiastical authorities usually for a special or extraordinary purpose

2 : the act of contributing; also : the thing contributed

his $100 contribution to the cancer research fund

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contributive

play \kən-ˈtri-byə-tiv\ adjective

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contributively

adverb

See contribution defined for English-language learners

See contribution defined for kids

Examples of contribution in a Sentence

They thanked him for his contribution of time and money.
He made an important contribution to the debate.
As mayor, he made many positive contributions to the growth of the city.
a book of essays including contributions from several well-known political columnists
The money was raised by voluntary contribution.

Recent Examples of contribution from the Web

The lion’s share of pre-race hype, including my own contribution, was all about Flanagan, Huddle, and Jordan Hasay, who was an eleventh-hour scratch.

— martin fritz huber, Outside Online, "The 2018 Boston Marathon Was Perfect Chaos," 18 Apr. 2018
The constant mimetic jousting in society creates tensions, which brings us to the second Girardian contribution: the scapegoat.

— susan crawford, WIRED, "Mark Zuckerberg Plays the Scapegoat for Our Facebook Sins," 17 Apr. 2018
If Ryan were to save $125 per month in the 401K for the next 40 years until retirement, his contribution, plus the match would amount to over $300,000 in savings.

— jill schlesinger, CBS News, "How to use your tax refund to save for retirement," 16 Apr. 2018
Louisville, for instance, faced an increase of $38 million to its retirement contributions on July 1, an amount city officials warned could wipe out any revenue growth and result in cuts to services or employee layoffs.

— phillip m. bailey, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky lawmakers reject Gov. Bevin's vetoes giving pension relief to Louisville and others," 13 Apr. 2018
Participating candidates are limited to $100 contributions.

— russell blair, courant.com, "Finance Reports Show Wealthy Businessmen Are Pouring Their Cash Into Outsider Gubernatorial Bids," 12 Apr. 2018
If the payment was made to help Trump win the election, it could be considered an in-kind campaign contribution, the legal limit for which is $2,700.

— brian bennett, Time, "Donald Trump Relied on Michael Cohen to Weather the Storm. Now The President Is On His Own," 12 Apr. 2018
The group claims the payments amounted to improper campaign contributions.

— mike mcintire, jim rutenberg and maggie haberman, New York Times, "Michael Cohen, ‘Ultimate Trump Loyalist,’ Now in the Sights of the F.B.I.," 10 Apr. 2018
The Hagerty Huskies defeated the No.-1 ranked Apopka Blue Darters in Apopka Friday night, thanks to late-game contributions from senior pitcher Ashley Worrell on both sides of play.

— OrlandoSentinel.com, "Hagerty takes down Apopka 5-1 in extra innings," 7 Apr. 2018

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