gerund or present participle
Giving money, time, effort, ideas, or other help to a person, group, project, or cause.
I am contributing to the volunteer effort.
Are you interested in contributing to the fundraiser?
American English
How to pronounce contributing
verb · adjectiveB1Common word
knTRIHByoodihng
/kʰn̩ˈtʰɹɪb.ju.ɾɪŋ/
4 syllables · Stress the second syllable.
Form of contribute
This -ing form is used after be for an action in progress and before a noun when it describes a cause or factor.
Giving money, time, effort, ideas, or other help to a person, group, project, or cause.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
gerund or present participle
Helping to cause a result or situation, usually together with other people or things.
Heavy traffic is contributing to the delay.
Several small errors are contributing to the problem.
gerund or present participle
Writing an article or other material for a newspaper, magazine, website, or similar publication.
She is contributing articles to an online magazine.
He is contributing a weekly column to the website.
participle adjective
Helping to cause a result, problem, or situation.
Poor planning was a contributing factor in the delay.
Lack of sleep is a contributing factor in many accidents.
Related words & forms
The past form is contributed, and the -ing form is contributing. Do not write *contributted or *contributeing.