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donate

/ˈdoʊneɪt/
/dəˈneɪt/
IPA guide

Other forms: donated; donating; donates

To donate means to give something — money, goods, or time — to some cause, such as a charity. The word has a more altruistic meaning than does simply "giving"; it suggests that you don't expect anything in return for the contribution.

The verb donate has always meant "to give," all the way back to the Latin verb donāre, "to give as a gift." Trace it back even further, to the ancient Indo-European roots, and you still have that same feeling to the word — "a gift." But it's more than a gift — it's a gift with the intention of helping. As an African proverb says, "If everybody in town donates one thread, the poor man has a shirt."

Definitions of donate
  1. verb
    give to a charity or good cause
    “I donated blood to the Red Cross for the victims of the earthquake”
    donate money to the orphanage”
    “She donates to her favorite charity every month”
    see moresee less
    types:
    pledge, subscribe
    pay (an amount of money) as a contribution to a charity or service, especially at regular intervals
    type of:
    gift, give, present
    give as a present; make a gift of
Pronunciation
US
/ˈdoʊneɪt/
UK
/dəˈneɪt/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘donate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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