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contribute to meaning and examples

2025-09-12

Meaning

The phrase contribute to means to give, provide, or help cause something. It can be used in the sense of donating or giving resources, or in the sense of being a factor that causes a result.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: Verb phrase
  • Structure: contribute to + noun/gerund
  • Transitivity: Transitive (requires an object after to)

Examples of patterns:

  • contribute to + noun (She contributed to the charity.)
  • contribute to + gerund (-ing form) (His attitude contributed to making the meeting unpleasant.)

Common Phrases

  • contribute to society
  • contribute to success
  • contribute to development
  • contribute to a cause
  • contribute to peace

Collocations

  • Noun + contribute to: donation contributes to, effort contributes to, research contributes to
  • Verb + contribute to: help contribute to, significantly contribute to, directly contribute to
  • Adverb + contribute to: greatly contribute to, largely contribute to, actively contribute to

Examples

  1. She contributed to the project by sharing her research.
  2. Regular exercise contributes to good health.
  3. Many volunteers contributed to the success of the event.
  4. Pollution contributes to climate change.
  5. He contributed to the team’s victory with his excellent defense.
  6. The company contributes to local charities every year.
  7. Stress can contribute to poor sleep.
  8. His comments contributed to the misunderstanding.
  • donate to
  • give to
  • help with
  • play a role in
  • add to

Antonym

  • take away from
  • hinder
  • obstruct