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

Market and restaurant regular Heather Anderson and her wife were contributors. — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026

Their limited budgets also have required both to identify which castoffs elsewhere could become valuable contributors. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026

In 2022, Garver was traded to the Rangers and became a key contributor to their 2023 World Series championship team. — Ryan Canfield Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026

That committee has received donations from the police union and other contributors. — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026

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