supplementary
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of supplementary
First recorded in 1660–70; supplement + -ary
Explanation
Supplementary is a little something extra to fill in a gap, like when your teacher suggests supplementary reading material that you may or may not get around to checking out. Supplementary can be an important part of something or just extra support. The word supplement comes from the Latin supplementum for "something added to fix a deficiency" and the suffix -ary means "connected with." Put them together and you have something connected with filling in. The supplementary support of digging a moat around your sand castle might save it from a wave, but that supplementary reading on your syllabus isn't required (although it might save your grade).
Vocabulary lists containing supplementary
The Giver
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 6
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The New SAT: The Language of the Test
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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.
After winning the 2024 general election, the Labour government passed a law reintroducing the Supplementary Vote for elections for mayors and police and crime commissioners.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
Mr. Lott relied on FBI data for his study, using the bureau’s Supplementary Homicide Report.
From Washington Times • Jan. 17, 2023
He said he would like authorities to tweak the so-called Supplementary Leverage Ratio to give banks more flexibility in how they manage liquidity, something already under consideration by regulators.
From Reuters • Nov. 3, 2022
Supplementary content should not be thought of as “extra,” for its purpose is to expand on the primary media.
From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021
Supplementary regulations enjoined members of the priesthood, whether Buddhist or Shinto, to devote themselves to the study of literature and science, and to practise what they preached.
From A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era by Brinkley, F. (Frank)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
