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

Those abilities would make Astier a key contributor in DeMarco’s offense, which is designed to be more structured and feature plenty of floor spacing — areas the team struggled with last season under Sandy Brondello. —Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 2 May 2026

In addition to being a practicing physician, Saphier is also a health influencer and former medical contributor to Fox News from 2018 to this week, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed. —Pien Huang, NPR, 2 May 2026

All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. —Jeff Kilburg, CNBC, 1 May 2026

Despite missing star Anthony Edwards and key contributors Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu, the Wolves dispatched the Denver Nuggets 110-98 in Game 6 to take the series 4-2. —Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 1 May 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