- a person who supports or helps a person, institution, etc, esp by giving money; patron
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ben•e•fac•tor /ˈbɛnəˌfæktɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a person who does a good deed:The benefactors of the college will have to give even more this year.
ben•e•fac•tor
(ben′ə fak′tər, ben′ə fak′-),USA pronunciation n.
- a person who confers a benefit;
kindly helper. - a person who makes a bequest or endowment, as to an institution.
- Late Latin; see bene-, factor
- late Middle English benefactour 1425–75
- 2. patron, supporter, sponsor, backer, protector.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
benefactor /ˈbɛnɪˌfæktə; ˌbɛnɪˈfæk-/ n
'benefactor' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
patron
- Australopithecus boisei
- benefactress
- challenge
- Chinaman
- corody
- grateful
- Harvard
- malefactor
- play
- Yale