con ‧ tri ‧ bu ‧ tion S2 W2 AC /ˌkɒntrəˈbjuːʃ ə n, ˌkɒntrɪˈbjuːʃ ə n $ ˌkɑːn-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ contribution , ↑ contributor ; verb : ↑ contribute ; adjective : ↑ contributory ]
1 . [countable] something that you give or do in order to help something be successful
contribution to/towards
Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contribution to Quantum Theory.
The school sees its job as preparing students to make a contribution to society.
significant/substantial/valuable etc contribution
Wolko made outstanding contributions to children’s medicine.
2 . [countable] an amount of money that you give in order to help pay for something:
a campaign contribution
contribution of
A contribution of £25 will buy 15 books.
contribution to/towards
Contributions to charities are tax deductible.
You can make annual contributions of up to $1,000 in education savings accounts.
3 . [countable] a regular payment that you make to your employer or to the government to pay for things that you will receive when you are no longer working, for example health care, a ↑ pension etc:
income tax and national insurance contributions
contribution to
Have you been making regular contributions to a pension plan?
4 . [countable] a piece of writing, a song, a speech etc that forms part of a larger work such as a newspaper, book, broadcast, recording etc
contribution from
a magazine with contributions from well-known travel writers
a Christmas album featuring contributions from Carly Simon, Amy Grant, and others
5 . [uncountable] when you give money, time, help etc:
All the money has been raised by voluntary contribution.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ make a contribution
I’d like everyone to make a contribution towards the discussion.
▪ acknowledge/recognize sb’s contribution (=say that you are grateful for what someone has done)
He acknowledged the contribution of many individuals in developing the report.
▪ value sb’s contribution (=think that someone’s contribution is important)
They didn’t seem to value my contribution.
■ adjectives
▪ a major/great contribution
Tourism makes a major contribution to the local economy.
▪ a positive contribution
We want kids to grow up to make a positive contribution to society.
▪ a huge contribution
This player has made a huge contribution to our club.
▪ a significant/important contribution
All of you can make a significant contribution to the organization.
▪ a useful/valuable contribution
I joined the society because I felt I could make a useful contribution.
▪ an invaluable/outstanding contribution (=extremely useful)
He won the award for his outstanding contribution over many years.
▪ a vital contribution (=a very important one)
Volunteers make a vital contribution in this country.