supply
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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to furnish or provide (something wanting or requisite).
to supply electricity to a community.
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to make up, compensate for, or satisfy (a deficiency, loss, need, etc.).
The TVA supplied the need for cheap electricity.
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to fill or occupy as a substitute, as a vacancy, a pulpit, etc..
During the summer local clergymen will supply the pulpit.
verb (used without object)
noun
plural
supplies-
the act of supplying, furnishing, providing, satisfying, etc..
to begin the supply of household help.
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something that is supplied.
The storm cut off our water supply.
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a quantity of something on hand or available, as for use; a stock or store.
Did you see our new supply of shirts?
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Usually supplies a provision, stock, or store of food or other things necessary for maintenance.
to lay in supplies for the winter.
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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.
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Military. supplies,
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all items necessary for the equipment, maintenance, and operation of a military command, including food, clothing, arms, ammunition, fuel, materials, and machinery.
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procurement, distribution, maintenance, and salvage of supplies.
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a person who fills a vacancy or takes the place of another, especially temporarily.
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Obsolete. supplies. reinforcement.
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Obsolete. aid.
adverb
verb
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to furnish with something that is required
to supply the community with good government
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(tr; often foll by to or for) to make available or provide (something that is desired or lacking)
to supply books to the library
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(tr) to provide for adequately; make good; satisfy
who will supply their needs?
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to serve as a substitute, usually temporary, in (another's position, etc)
there are no clergymen to supply the pulpit
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(tr) to fill (a vacancy, position, etc)
noun
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the act of providing or something that is provided
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( as modifier )
a supply dump
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(often plural) an amount available for use; stock
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(plural) food, equipment, etc, needed for a campaign or trip
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economics
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willingness and ability to offer goods and services for sale
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the amount of a commodity that producers are willing and able to offer for sale at a specified price Compare demand
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military
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the management and disposal of food and equipment
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( as modifier )
supply routes
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(often plural) a grant of money voted by a legislature for government expenses, esp those not covered by other revenues
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(in Parliament and similar legislatures) the money voted annually for the expenses of the civil service and armed forces
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a person who acts as a temporary substitute
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( as modifier )
a supply vicar
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a source of electrical energy, gas, etc
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obsolete aid or assistance
adverb
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.
- 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
- suppliable adjective
- supplier noun
- unsupplied adjective
- well-supplied adjective
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; sup- full 1
Origin of supply1
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.
The reservoir of the Amir Kabir dam, one of the largest supplying Iran's capital, is still largely empty despite sporadic winter rainfall following the worst drought in decades, local media reported Wednesday.
From Barron's
And it is in his childhood province of Quebec that up to 75% of the world’s syrup supply is made.
Nvidia is one of a handful of companies supplying most of the market, he said, therefore its supply chain has expanded significantly in recent years.
From MarketWatch
Every city has less than a month of supply, and in most cases, over half of homes sell within two weeks.
The underlying theme is scarcity: In a sector used to moving slowly to match flat demand, supply isn’t able to keep up with the growing and urgent power needs of artificial intelligence.
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.
