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Synonyms

provide

American

[pruh-vahyd] / prəˈvaɪd /

verb (used with object)

to make available; furnish.

to provide employees with various benefits.

Synonyms:

render, give
to supply or equip.

to provide the army with new fighter planes.
to afford or yield.

Synonyms:

produce
Law. to arrange for or stipulate beforehand, as by a provision or proviso.
Archaic. to prepare or procure beforehand.

verb (used without object)

to take measures with due foresight (usually followed by for oragainst ).
to make arrangements for supplying means of support, money, etc. (usually followed byfor ).

He provided for his children in his will.
to supply means of support (often followed byfor ).

to provide for oneself.

provide British

/ prəˈvaɪd /

verb

to put at the disposal of; furnish or supply
to afford; yield

this meeting provides an opportunity to talk
(intr; often foll by for or against) to take careful precautions (over)

he provided against financial ruin by wise investment
to supply means of support (to), esp financially

he provides for his family
(in statutes, documents, etc) to determine (what is to happen in certain contingencies), esp by including a proviso condition
to confer and induct into ecclesiastical offices
rare to have or get in store

in summer many animals provide their winter food

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

Where does provide come from? For many, the word provide might conjure up tangible objects you can hand over, like food, supplies, goods, or money. Provide may also bring to mind less concrete things that can nevertheless be given or furnished, such as answers or solutions or responses. So, it might surprise you to learn that the root of provide isn’t about the sense of touch—but vision. Provide entered English around 1375–1425. It comes from the Latin prōvidēre, meaning “to foresee, look after, provide for.” The underlying idea of this verb is seeing something at a distance or beforehand, and when you can see something coming, you can make arrangements and prepare supplies for it. We call such arrangements and supplies provisions, a word that is also derived from prōvidēre. The Latin prōvidēre is composed of two parts. The first part is prō-, a widely used prefix based on the preposition prō, meaning “before, in front of.” The second part is vidēre, meaning “to see, look at.”Prō- appears in many words English borrowed from Latin, such as these verbs:

The verb vidēre is the ultimate source of a lot of English words, many of which entered English through French. Some more familiar derivatives include view, video, vision, visual, visit, and vista. Other derivatives are less obvious and even surprising:

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of provide

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English providen, Latin prōvidēre “to foresee, look after, provide for,” equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + vidēre “to see”; cf. video ( def. )

Explanation

To provide means to give or supply. When you stay in a bed and breakfast, the innkeeper will generally provide you with a meal in the morning as part of the price of the room. The verb provide generally means to make available or even to allow. The Constitution, for example, provides for protected freedom of speech. But you've probably also heard people talking about getting a job to provide for their family — in that case, to provide means to make money to pay for food and bills, or in other words, bring home the bacon.

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Vocabulary lists containing provide

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

provide provides provided providing

For people living with long COVID, the findings may also provide a biological explanation for symptoms that can be difficult to measure from the outside.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

The CBI, which represents UK businesses, said many employers already provide compassionate leave in these circumstances and it would engage with the government and unions to ensure the details work in practice.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

The change likely isn’t a sign of any major shifts in the education Princeton and MIT provide students, and instead is the result of a tweak in the methodology U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Companies need room on rockets for devices that can photograph Earth, ferry cargo to the surface of the moon and provide internet connections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

They would have to provide old Takawira with a pot.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

The Meta Connect conference on Wednesday could be a further catalyst for the company’s stock as Meta provides updates about new AI launches.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

The pool feed, as it’s called, provides video to all other press outlets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

In 2024, she quit to launch TideFlow, an app that tracks sleep, provides meditation exercises and offers recommendations for better rest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

But the trade remains highly lucrative and the plethora of conflicts provides ever more opportunities.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Secondly, it is a question about intellectual tools: the concept of laws of nature, for example, shapes the sorts of questions scientists ask and the sorts of answers nature provides.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

In 2021, the Department for Transport provided £20m to 15 local authorities in England to trial DRT via the Rural Mobility Fund.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

A slide in oil prices provided some breathing room for tech stocks’ takeoff.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Forest restoration also provided meaningful benefits, particularly on properties where much of the original forest had already disappeared.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

He remained a missing person until recently when a single bone washed ashore, and investigative work provided closure after three decades for the family of the California father of three.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

“Really,” she said disgustedly, “if the cute janitor wanted to warn you, he should have provided a few more details. Names, dates—something you could go to the police with.”

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Data centers are becoming more efficient at providing computing power and moving more quickly than the grid can service.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

“Carnival is providing support to the family who was traveling with the guest, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

These include rapid diagnosis, isolating infected patients, tracing people who may have been exposed, strengthening infection control, and providing supportive medical care.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Jung had initially assumed they were providing nutrients, but then began to wonder if something more sinister was at play.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The tunnel twists and turns, the tiny lights providing the only illumination.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023