Meaning & use

alms

noun·Advanced

Money, food, or other goods given to poor people as charity.

See it in a sentence

The monks distributed alms to the beggars gathered outside the temple gates.

In the past, wealthy families were expected to give alms to the poor of their parish.

A note on using this word

Alms is a somewhat archaic, mainly literary or historical term; charity or donations sound more natural in modern speech.

Words with a similar meaning

charitydonations

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

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