contribute

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /kənˈtrɪbjuːt/ or /ˈkɒntrɪˌbjuːt/
• SAMPA: /k@n"trIbju:t/ or /"kQntrI%bju:t/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: con‧tri‧bute

Verb

Plain form contribute

Third-person singular contributes

Past tense contributed

Past participle contributed

Present participle contributing

1. (intransitive) If $x$ contributes to $y$, $x$ is one of a number of things that together make or cause $y$.

   Unusually warm temperatures may have significantly contributed to the amount of rain we've had.

   There are a lot of factors that are contributing to the strong economy.

   Staff writer Karlyn Barker contributed to this report.

   This information contributes to our understanding of the problem.

   Reduced rainfall may have contributed to the decline of the Mayan civilization.

2. (transitive & intransitive) If you contribute something, you make it available to other people.

   Everybody contributed $10 to pay for the present.

   Are you able to contribute an hour a week to help us out?

Related words

• contribution
• contributor
• contributory
• noncontributory