contributor

noun con·trib·u·tor \ kən-ˈtri-byə-tər , -bə- , -ˌbyü- \

Definition of contributor

: 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

Recent Examples of contributor from the Web

Past Capital Weather Gang contributor Steve Tracton said his son, who lives in Columbia, heard the quake as did some of his neighbors.

— jason samenow, Washington Post, "A small earthquake rattled Howard County Sunday night," 1 Nov. 2017
Thompson is a backup safety and a contributor on special teams.

— matt zenitz, AL.com, "New information regarding Deionte Thompson's legal situation," 1 Nov. 2017
At that trial Montpetit testified that DNA from one glove linked Dominguez to the killing of a minor contributor.

— greg moran, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Judge reverses murder conviction, saying crucial DNA information not disclosed," 24 Oct. 2017
Other top contributors for Indian Hill this season were freshmen Jessica August (15-0 record) and Jessie Budde as well as junior Madeline Major.

— scott springer, Cincinnati.com, "Indian Hill girls among those ready for state tennis weekend," 14 Oct. 2017
There are no reputable studies that pinpoint the length of time the virus can live on cosmetics, Smith, who is also a SELF contributor, continues.

— amy capetta, SELF, "A Woman Claims She Got Herpes From Sephora Lipstick Samples," 3 Nov. 2017
Arizona will be without three key contributors—Yasmany Tomas and Nick Ahmed—who have season ending injuries, and Chris Owings, who hasn’t played since fracturing his finger on July 30.

— dan gartland, SI.com, "Diamondbacks Playoff Roster, Lineup, Pitching Matchup for Wild Card Game vs. Rockies," 4 Oct. 2017
The United Kingdom is the second largest contributor to the European particle physics laboratory, CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland, with an annual contribution of $175 million.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "U.K. pledges $88 million to gigantic U.S. particle physics experiment," 20 Sep. 2017
Monitor contributor Steve Donoghue recently had an email exchange with Burns and Novick about their work and the nearness of its connection to contemporary American lives.

— steve donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor, "'The Vietnam War' co-directors Ken Burns and Lynn Novick explain why Vietnam is relevant to us today," 12 Sep. 2017

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