supplementary
Americanadjective
noun
-
supplementaries
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
nonsupplementaryadjective
-
presupplementaryadjective
-
unsupplementaryadjective
-
supplementarilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
He later climbed the peaks again, this time without supplementary oxygen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Not a hard left turn, but a supplementary detail to take with us in the end.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
Jones told BBC Politics Wales that more information would be forthcoming over the next few weeks before a supplementary budget is published on 23 June.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
The company’s supplementary tax payment accounts for around 28% of Nomura’s estimated net profit attributable to shareholders for fiscal year 2026, they point out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Have the students who failed the exam take the supplementary.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
While he fretted his still pounding head, Bill rode the round-up of registers, supplementaries and totals.
From A Canadian Bankclerk by J. P. Buschlen
At once a storm of "supplementaries" broke forth.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, July 18, 1917 by Various
There were other garments and supplementaries, all treated in the same way.
From A Woman-Hater by Charles Reade
A long question to the Board of Trade, on the subject of horse-hides, followed by a series of supplementaries delivered with his customary emphasis, showed that he is not yet resigned to his muzzle.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, August 22, 1917 by Various
The storm of "supplementaries" showed no sign of abating, until the SPEAKER, who rarely fails to find the appropriate phrase, remarked upon "This thirst for information," and so dissolved the House in laughter.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, July 11, 1917 by Various
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.
