contribution

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of contributing.
• noun Something contributed.
• noun A payment exacted for a special purpose; an impost or a levy.
• noun An article or other work submitted for publication.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of giving to a common stock, or in common with others; the act of promoting or affording aid to a common end; the payment by each of his share of some common expense, or the doing by each of his part of a common labor.
• noun That which is given to a common stock or done to promote a common end, either by an individual or by many; something furnished as a joint share or constituent part.
• noun Specifically A writing furnished as a distinct part of a periodical or other joint literary work.
• noun Milit., an imposition paid by a frontier country to secure itself from being plundered by the enemy's army; an imposition upon a country in the power of an enemy, which is levied under various pretenses and for various purposes, usually for the support of the army.
• noun In law, a payment made by each of several, having a common interest, of his share in a loss suffered, or in an amount paid, by one of the number for the common good: as, for instance, a payment levied on each of the several owners of a vessel for equalizing the loss arising from sacrifices made for the common safety in sea voyages, where the ship is in danger of being lost or captured.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of contributing.
• noun That which is contributed; -- either the portion which an individual furnishes to the common stock, or the whole which is formed by the gifts of individuals.
• noun (Mil.) An irregular and arbitrary imposition or tax leved on the people of a town or country.
• noun (Law) Payment, by each of several jointly liable, of a share in a loss suffered or an amount paid by one of their number for the common benefit.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun Something given or offered that adds to a larger whole.
• noun An amount of money given toward something.
• noun The act of contributing.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the part played by a person in bringing about a result
• noun act of giving in common with others for a common purpose especially to a charity
• noun a voluntary gift (as of money or service or ideas) made to some worthwhile cause
• noun a writing for publication especially one of a collection of writings as an article or story
• noun an amount of money contributed