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

Michael Jordan made his debut Tuesday night as a special contributor to NBC’s NBA broadcasts, speaking with the network’s Mike Tirico in a one-on-one interview. —Josh Robbins, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2025

In addition, Díaz-Balart will host the Spanish edition of the newsmagazine Dateline for Telemundo, while also becoming a contributor to the NBC edition of the show, which is anchored by Lester Holt. —Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025

All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. —Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2025

But as defenses have found ways to slow him down and some of the Kansas City QB’s key contributors have moved on or gotten older, the Chiefs offense has transitioned into more of a dink-and-dunk operation. —Ben Morse, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 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