Meaning & use
contribute
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To give money, time, effort or ideas so that a group or project can succeed.
Grammar: Can take an object (contribute money) or stand alone, often with to: she contributes regularly to the fund.
Patterns
- contribute something to something
- contribute to something
- contribute something toward something
Each neighbor contributed ten dollars toward the gift.
He contributes to the discussion every week.
Everyone in the team contributed ideas for the launch.
verbintransitive
To be one of the causes that help bring about a result, usually a problem or a change.
Grammar: Always followed by to and no direct object: stress contributes to illness.
Patterns
- contribute to something
Poor sleep can contribute to headaches.
Heavy traffic contributed to the delay.
Several factors contributed to the company's decline.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To write articles, stories or other pieces for a newspaper, magazine or book.
Grammar: Usually followed by to a publication: he contributes to a monthly magazine.
Patterns
- contribute to something
- contribute something to something
She contributes a weekly column to the local paper.
Several scientists contributed chapters to the textbook.
He has contributed to many magazines over the years.
Word forms
| third person singular | contributes |
|---|---|
| past tense | contributed |
| past participle | contributed |
| -ing form | contributing |
Common combinations
- contribute to the cost
- Parents were asked to contribute to the cost of the trip.
- contribute significantly
- Exercise contributes significantly to good health.
- contribute to a charity
- Many employees contribute to a charity of their choice.
- contribute to the success
- Her hard work contributed to the success of the event.
- contribute to the problem
- Cutting the budget only contributed to the problem.
Synonyms and how they differ
- donate
- Donate means to give, usually money or goods, to a cause, but it cannot describe helping to cause an outcome.
- add
- Add is a plain, everyday word for putting something extra in, with less sense of sharing in a joint effort.
- help
- Help is broader and more casual, while contribute implies taking a share of a larger whole.
- chip in
- Chip in is informal and suggests small, friendly contributions from several people.
Opposites
Word family
- contribution noun
- something given or done to help a shared aim
- contributor noun
- a person who contributes, such as a writer for a magazine
- contributory adjective
- helping to cause a result, as in a contributory factor
- contributive adjective
- tending to contribute; rarer than contributory
Commonly confused: contribute or distribute?
contribute vs distribute
Distribute means to hand out or share among many; contribute means to give your own share toward something.
Practice
Which sentence uses contribute correctly?
Choose one answer.
When contribute means to be one cause of something, it is followed by to. The other prepositions are not used with this verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contribute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.