supply

¹ American  

[suh-plahy] / səˈplaɪ /

verb (used with object)

supplies, present (3rd person singular) supplied, past participle, past supplying present participle

1. to furnish or provide (a person, establishment, place, etc.) with what is lacking or requisite.

   to supply someone clothing;

   to supply a community with electricity.

2. to furnish or provide (something wanting or requisite).

   to supply electricity to a community.

3. to make up, compensate for, or satisfy (a deficiency, loss, need, etc.).

   The TVA supplied the need for cheap electricity.

4. to fill or occupy as a substitute, as a vacancy, a pulpit, etc..

   During the summer local clergymen will supply the pulpit.

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verb (used without object)

supplies, present (3rd person singular) supplied, past participle, past supplying present participle

1. to fill the place of another, especially the pulpit of a church, temporarily or as a substitute.

   Who will supply until the new minister arrives?

noun

supplies plural

1. the act of supplying, furnishing, providing, satisfying, etc..

   to begin the supply of household help.

2. something that is supplied.

   The storm cut off our water supply.

3. a quantity of something on hand or available, as for use; a stock or store.

   Did you see our new supply of shirts?

4. Usually supplies a provision, stock, or store of food or other things necessary for maintenance.

   to lay in supplies for the winter.

5. Economics. the quantity of a commodity that is in the market and available for purchase or that is available for purchase at a particular price.

6. Military. supplies,

   1. all items necessary for the equipment, maintenance, and operation of a military command, including food, clothing, arms, ammunition, fuel, materials, and machinery.

   2. procurement, distribution, maintenance, and salvage of supplies.

7. a person who fills a vacancy or takes the place of another, especially temporarily.

8. Obsolete. supplies. reinforcement.

9. Obsolete. aid.

supply ² American  

[suhp-lee] / ˈsʌp li /

adverb

1. in a supple manner or way; supplely.

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supply ¹ British  

/ səˈplaɪ /

verb

1. to furnish with something that is required

   to supply the community with good government

2. (tr; often foll by to or for) to make available or provide (something that is desired or lacking)

   to supply books to the library

3. (tr) to provide for adequately; make good; satisfy

   who will supply their needs?

4. to serve as a substitute, usually temporary, in (another's position, etc)

   there are no clergymen to supply the pulpit

5. (tr) to fill (a vacancy, position, etc)

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noun

1. 1. the act of providing or something that is provided

   2. ( as modifier )

      a supply dump

2. (often plural) an amount available for use; stock

3. (plural) food, equipment, etc, needed for a campaign or trip

4. economics

   1. willingness and ability to offer goods and services for sale

   2. the amount of a commodity that producers are willing and able to offer for sale at a specified price Compare demand

5. military

   1. the management and disposal of food and equipment

   2. ( as modifier )

      supply routes

6. (often plural) a grant of money voted by a legislature for government expenses, esp those not covered by other revenues

7. (in Parliament and similar legislatures) the money voted annually for the expenses of the civil service and armed forces

8. 1. a person who acts as a temporary substitute

   2. ( as modifier )

      a supply vicar

9. a source of electrical energy, gas, etc

10. obsolete aid or assistance

supply ² British  

/ ˈsʌplɪ, ˈsʌpəlɪ /

adverb

1. in a supple manner

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supply Cultural  

1. The amount of any given commodity available for sale at a given time.

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supply Idioms  

1. see in short supply.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of supply? The word supply is used as a verb to mean to provide something. As a noun, supply refers to a stockpile or quantity of something. Supply has several other senses as a verb or a noun. As a verb, supply means to give something. You might supply something in response to a request for that item, as when a clothing factory supplies a department store with new clothes in return for money. You might supply something that satisfies a need, as when plants supply us with oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Or you might supply something in order to make up for a deficiency, as when a food pantry supplies food for hungry people.

• Real-life examples: A hydroelectric dam can supply a city with electricity. Soup kitchens supply impoverished people with food. Nature often supplies water and sunlight to plants.
• Used in a sentence: The teacher supplied pencils and paper to the students.

As a noun, supply means an amount of something that has been stored up or stockpiled. For example, almost everyone keeps a supply of food in their house. The plural of supply is supplies and is used when more than one type of thing is being stored.

• Real-life examples: Hospitals keep a supply of blood to use for emergencies. It is a good idea to keep an ample supply of toilet paper so you never run out. Soldiers are often given a lot of supplies to carry with them in case of problems.
• Used in a sentence: The grocery story was running low on its supply of milk.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• suppliable
  adjective
• unsupplied
  adjective
• supplier
  noun
• well-supplied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• supplies
  plural

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have been supplying
  perfect progressive
• has supplied
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have supplied
  perfect
• is supplying
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am supplying
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been supplying
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are supplying
  progressive
• supplies
  singular 3rd person
• supplying
  participle

Past

• had supplied
  perfect
• supplied
  participle
• had been supplying
  perfect progressive
• were supplying
  progressive plural
• was supplying
  progressive singular
• supplied
  simple

Future

• will supply
  simple
• will have supplied
  perfect
• will have been supplying
  perfect progressive
• will be supplying
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of supply¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb sup(p)lien “to fill up, complete,” from Middle French souplier, soupleer, ultimately from Latin supplēre “to fill up” (equivalent to sup- prefix + plēre “to fill”); noun derivative of the verb; see sup- full ¹

Origin of supply²

First recorded in 1525–35; supple + -ly

Explanation

To supply the definition of a word is to provide that definition. That's supply used as a verb. If you're talking about the noun, however, then the supply is the thing itself. People who think the world is coming to an end generally like to keep a supply of fresh water on hand. Though, if the world did come to an end, you wouldn't need to supply water to anyone, would you? That's a case of supplying a supply. If there is a big enough demand for ping-pong balls, a person could get rich, if they controlled the supply. Having to supply all those balls could be exhausting, though.

Example Sentences

"Supply teachers are quite often going to classes in which they are not specialists, and they can't provide that knowledge and understanding that a subject specialist would," she said.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

Wheat, rice, cotton, sugar, cocoa and palm-oil production may be hit the hardest, Marex analysts wrote in a recent report called “El Niño and Agriculture: Weather Shocks, Supply Risk and Market Pricing.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

Elsewhere on Monday, investors got a positive read on manufacturing, as the Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers Index, or PMI, rose to a four-year high.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

The Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers index was 54 last month, its highest reading since May 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

I scan the cavern until I locate the Supply Station, a deep room set off by a counter.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• afford
• cater
• contribute
• deliver
• equip
• feed
• fill
• find
• grant
• hand over
• produce
• store
• transfer
• turn over
• yield