con ‧ trib ‧ ute S3 W2 AC /kənˈtrɪbjuːt/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ contribution , ↑ contributor ; verb : ↑ contribute ; adjective : ↑ contributory ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of contribuere , from com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + tribuere ( , ↑ tribute ) ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to give money, help, ideas etc to something that a lot of other people are also involved in
contribute to/towards
City employees cannot contribute to political campaigns.
contribute something to/towards something
The volunteers contribute their own time to the project.
2 . [intransitive] to help to make something happen ⇨ contributory :
Stress is a contributing factor in many illnesses.
contribute to
Alcohol contributes to 100,000 deaths a year in the US.
contribute substantially/significantly/greatly etc to something
Enya’s success has contributed substantially to the current interest in Celtic music.
3 . [intransitive and transitive] to write articles, stories, poems etc for a newspaper or magazine ⇨ contributor
contribute to
one of several authors contributing to the book