contribute

Contribute is a verb meaning to give something—such as money, time, ideas, or effort—to a common cause, project, or pool, or to help bring about a result. It is commonly used with the prepositions to or toward, as in contribute to a project or contribute toward a goal. The word also describes playing a part in a larger outcome, not necessarily by a single act but by adding one’s share.

Origin: from Latin contribuere "to bring together, allot," from com- "together" and tribuere "to assign, pay." In English, contribute has been used since the 15th century to express giving or adding to a collective effort.

Usage examples: People contribute money to charities, time to volunteer organizations, research data to a study, or ideas to a team discussion. In technology and open source, developers contribute code, documentation, or translations to a repository. The noun forms are contribution and contributor; the adjective is contributory.

Contribute is related to donate, but the latter emphasizes transfer of money or goods; contribute also covers non-monetary inputs and collaborative work. Some phrases prefer to; others use with, such as contribute with one’s expertise, though to is more common when indicating the target of the contribution.

See also: contribution, contributor, donation, contributory.