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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing provide

PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

The SAT: Language of the Test, List 5

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 6

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

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

Together, these papers provide new insight into how the genome's 3D organization shapes human development, aging, and numerous diseases.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

Parke Skelton, a retired veteran Democratic political consultant, said that he expects the slate mailers, field volunteers and other support that each organization can provide their endorsed candidate will wash out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

"Even getting a birth notification from the hospital requires information that doesn't exist," says Amira, explaining that she is unable to provide any details about the child's father.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong pledged to provide mental health assistance to students and ramp up security measures at educational institutions.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

“Surely you can provide a few drops of blood without my help?”

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

The "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement" pledges mutual support between the three Sunni states, but provides no specifics on the obligations of each.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

"Our study provides a new strategy for engineering biomimetic nanoreactors that increasingly replicate the sophisticated functions of living cells, opening new opportunities in artificial photosynthesis, energy catalysis, and synthetic chemistry," said Prof. Li.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

In April, Amazon said it was launching a program that provides access to GLP-1 treatments Wegovy and Foundayo through its One Medical primary care arm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Nandy opted not to issue an “intervention notice” after striking an agreement with Paramount that provides “assurances and legally-binding commitments” that the company would not abuse its market clout.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

You may think that this is simply because Galileo’s law is incomplete: Newton’s theory of gravity provides an explanation both of Galileo’s law of fall and of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Egan-Jones said that in many of those cases, it provided unsolicited ratings for its subscribers, using only publicly available information.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The victims, they said, then provided the license plate of the suspect’s vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

"The extent of the physical assistance that Schwalbe provided to Wright is unknown to everybody other than the two men," said Ryan.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

It has provided financing also to Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Only one, however, provided a good look at his face.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

The company in July said it would start guaranteeing the quality of its Whoppers, committing to remake orders on the spot if customers deem them unsatisfactory, and providing a future Whopper for free.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The plant -- which is close to the front line of the war -- has repeatedly suffered power cuts, with emergency diesel generators providing power for crucial cooling functions.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Some hospitals that provide emergency medical services but not trauma care, including Catalina Island Health and MLK hospital, are pushing for the county to help them by providing recurring disbursements of Measure B funds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

"The increased footfall that is coming into the city is providing much-needed revenue for businesses and actually the businesses in the sector have invested a lot in making sure that visitors really enjoy the experience."

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Dr. Lee asked questions of the supposed spirits while the man cracked his ankles in response, providing, “a more striking illustration of ‘spiritual knockings’ than the Foxes ever dreamed of.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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