Meaning & use
donor
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person or group that gives money, goods or help, especially to a charity or cause.
Grammar: Countable: a generous donor, many donors.
Patterns
- a donor to something
- a donor of something
An anonymous donor paid for the new library wing.
The museum thanked its major donors at a dinner.
Each donor received a letter showing how the money was spent.
nouncountablemedical
A person who gives blood, an organ, or other body material for medical use by someone else.
Grammar: Often part of a compound: blood donor, organ donor, kidney donor.
Patterns
- a donor for someone
- a match for a donor
She registered as a blood donor after her brother's accident.
The patient waited months for a suitable donor.
A living donor can give one kidney and still stay healthy.
nouncountabletechnicalchemistry
In science, an atom, compound or organism that gives something such as electrons or genetic material to another.
Grammar: Technical use, with a noun before it: electron donor.
Patterns
- an electron donor
In this reaction, the metal acts as an electron donor.
The donor plant provided the gene for drought resistance.
A hydrogen bond needs a donor and an acceptor.
Word forms
| plural | donors |
|---|
Common combinations
- organ donor
- Her card says she is an organ donor.
- blood donor
- Blood donors can give every few months.
- major donor
- A major donor funded the scholarship.
- donor card
- Carry your donor card in your wallet.
- donor match
- Doctors searched for a donor match.
Synonyms and how they differ
- giver
- Giver is the plain everyday word and sounds less formal than donor.
- benefactor
- A benefactor gives money and often support over time, and the word sounds more grand than donor.
- contributor
- Contributor can also mean someone who gives ideas or articles, not just money.
- patron
- A patron supports an artist or institution regularly and often gets some recognition in return.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: donor or doner?
donor vs doner
A doner is a kind of kebab, while a donor is a giver. They sound alike in some accents.
Practice
The hospital is searching for a ___ whose blood type matches the patient.
Choose one answer.
A donor is the person who gives blood or an organ. The recipient receives it, and patrons and sponsors give support, not blood.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “donor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.