contributor

noun

con·​trib·​u·​tor kən-ˈtri-byə-tər 

-bə-, 

-ˌbyü-

: someone or something that contributes something or that contributes to something

charitable contributors

… have suggested that the fee would hurt the agriculture industry, a sector they claim is the largest contributor to the state economy.

—Wenonah Hauter

… was illustrated by Oliver Munday, a frequent contributor to the Book Review …

—John Williams

These particles, which are known as black carbon and are the major component of soot, are the second most important contributor to global warming, behind only carbon dioxide, wrote the 31 authors of the study …

—Elisabeth Rosenthal

Examples of contributor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Shopee, the biggest contributor to Sea’s business, has now achieved five consecutive quarters of sequential gross merchandise value (GMV) growth. —Angelica Ang, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025

The agency is funded by member countries, with the US the largest contributor. —Reuters 16 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2025

The tree that our contributor DaVonne Bacchus reviewed is 27% off right now. —Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 12 Nov. 2025

Michael Wolff was a freelance USA TODAY contributor from 2012 to early 2017. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 12 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English contributour "person who pays a tax or assessment," borrowed from Anglo-French, "one who pays a share of a tax or fine," from Latin contribūt-, past participle stem of Latin contribuere "to give as a portion or share" + -our -or entry 1 — more at contribute

First Known Use

circa 1531, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for contributor

• distributor