contribute

contribute — verb

1. to give money, time, or other resources toward a shared goal, doing your part al

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to give money, time, or other resources toward a shared goal, doing your part alongside others in a group effort.

Example

Ada contributes £20 to the local food bank every month.

contribute + [amount] + to + [institution]

Christopher contributed his old laptop to the school's computer lab.

contribute + [object] + to + [recipient]

Common collocations
  • contribute money
  • contribute time
  • contribute generously
  • contribute to a charity
  • contribute to a fund
Synonyms
  • donate

    more restricted; usually refers to money or goods given to charity, not time or ideas

  • give

    more general; does not imply joint effort or shared goal as strongly

  • chip in

    informal; suggests each person gives a small amount toward a shared expense

Antonyms
  • withhold

    to deliberately refuse to give what is expected

Grammar Patterns

contribute + [money / time / resources] + to + [cause / institution]

contribute to + [cause / institution]

Usage Note

Common objects include money, food, clothes, time, effort, and ideas. The preposition 'to' introduces the person, group, or institution that receives the help.

Common Mistakes

I contributed for the charity.
I contributed to the charity.
Use 'to,' not 'for,' after 'contribute' when naming the recipient.
She contributed me $50.
She contributed $50 to my fundraiser.
The recipient must follow 'to'; do not use an indirect object directly after the verb.

2. to provide written material, photographs, or other creative work that is publish

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to provide written material, photographs, or other creative work that is published in a newspaper, magazine, book, or on a website.

Example

Gabriela contributes a weekly column on healthy cooking to the city newspaper.

contribute + [regular feature] + to + [publication]

Ishaan contributed several wildlife photographs to a travel magazine last spring.

contribute + [visual content] + to + [publication]

Common collocations
  • contribute an article
  • contribute photographs
  • contribute regularly
  • contribute to a magazine
  • contribute a column
Synonyms
  • write for

    less formal; emphasises the author's ongoing relationship with the publication

  • supply

    more impersonal; often used for photographs or illustrations rather than text

Grammar Patterns

contribute + [article / photograph / story] + to + [publication]

contribute to + [publication]

Usage Note

Often implies a regular or semi-regular arrangement, though it can describe a one-time submission. The content contributed is owned by the contributor but published by the outlet.

Common Mistakes

He contributed an article on the newspaper.
He contributed an article to the newspaper.
Use 'to,' not 'on,' for the publication.

3. to play a role in causing something to happen, often as one of several influence

3.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to play a role in causing something to happen, often as one of several influences that together produce a result.

Example

Lack of sleep contributed to Hamza's poor performance on the final exam.

[negative factor] contribute to [negative result]

The new playground equipment contributed to a rise in outdoor play among local children.

[positive factor] contribute to [positive result]

Common collocations
  • contribute to the problem
  • contribute to success
  • contribute significantly
  • contribute greatly
  • factors contribute
Synonyms
  • lead to

    stronger causal link; suggests a more direct or inevitable result

  • play a part in

    more explicit about being one factor among many; slightly more formal

  • add to

    can also mean 'increase'; overlaps with 'contribute to' for negative results like problems

Antonyms
  • prevent

    to stop something from happening

  • hinder

    to make it harder for something to happen

Grammar Patterns

contribute to + [noun]

contribute to + [gerund / verb-ing]

Usage Note

Always followed by 'to.' The subject is rarely the sole cause; it is one factor among several. Common in academic and journalistic writing to explain reasons behind trends or events.

Common Mistakes

His hard work contributed passing the exam.
His hard work contributed to passing the exam.
The preposition 'to' is required even when followed by a gerund.
The rain contributed in the flood.
The rain contributed to the flood.
Use 'to,' not 'in.'

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words involve giving something, but they differ in who benefits and how. 'Donate' is the most specific — it means giving money or goods to a charity or worthy cause, usually without expecting anything in return ('She donated her old coats to the shelter'). 'Give' is the broadest and can apply to anything from a birthday present to a blood donation, but it does not carry the sense of joint effort that 'contribute' does. 'Chip in' is informal and describes a group of people each putting in a small amount toward a shared expense, like buying a colleague a leaving gift. 'Provide' is more neutral and service-oriented: it emphasises supplying something that is needed or expected, often in an official or professional arrangement ('The hotel provides free breakfast'). Use 'contribute' when you want to highlight that your giving is part of a larger, shared effort.

donate ↗give ↗chip in ↗provide ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • money
  • time
  • resources
  • effort
  • ideas
  • articles
  • photographs

Adverbs

Phrases

  • make a contribution to
  • play a part in

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From Latin 'contribuere,' meaning 'to bring together, give jointly.' It combines 'con-' (together) and 'tribuere' (to give, to allot). The English sense of 'giving alongside others' appeared in the 1500s. By the 1700s the word had also taken on the meaning 'to write for a publication,' and by the 1800s the causal sense ('to contribute to a result') was well established.