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.

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Vocabulary lists containing provide

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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:

provide provides provided providing

He looked at Instagram and found a shoulder sleeve designed to provide support.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026

Squarespace said something similar, sharing in a statement to MarketWatch: “We wanted to provide meaningful support to employees through the transition.”

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

It was a small work family of men and women who stayed on the job for years, worked as a team and tried to provide excellent service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Instead, he has focused much of the state's resources on his own flagship programme to provide free school meals across the country.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

“Rain and brollies provide good cover. We’ll sneak out through the back of the building. It’s too dangerous going out the front. We can’t risk Fleetwood following and discovering that I’m staying in Bletchley.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

The DfE said it would review the information it provides, while universities said their websites referred to government information and would be reviewed where necessary.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Emons, whose firm provides investment research, was sitting at his downtown Manhattan office at 9 p.m. on Tuesday when his Android phone started ringing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

While Roku provides Fox with an opportunity to be more aggressive in marketing its channels, Fox has pledged that the platform will remain open to distributing content from competitors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

The current provides a connection between the microscopic world of quantum states and the larger physical systems scientists can measure.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

She is a fiend for aesthetics with an eye for fashion that is both unique and coveted, and provides her with a sizable income since her retirement from the ballet.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

"In terms of curriculum, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment has provided a range of resources which address grief, loss, and bereavement both at primary and post-primary level," they said.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

If someone walked in the door one minute before closing, they were still provided with the same service even if it took half an hour.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Hims said it has never provided compounded versions of Lilly’s GLP-1 drugs.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

The Chandrasekhar limit has traditionally provided an important part of the physical framework for understanding these explosions.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

Cassiopeia had no helmet, but her pigtails, tied in a knot, provided ample cushioning for the wicker basket.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

But the centres also need power sources, intensive cooling systems, and old-fashioned construction, plumbing and electrical work, all providing money and jobs for local communities and beyond.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

Scientists have now identified the insect responsible, providing an important first step toward protecting crops from the pest.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

NHS leaders said any move to concentrate services at one or two sites would be based on providing safer care for women and babies.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

For a woman who has been struggling with infertility, you might expect pursuing fertility treatment, such as in vitro fertilization and gestational surrogacy, to offer some emotional relief by providing a path forward.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

If you have a heterogeneous class make up of many different ethnicities, abilities, races, providing activities validates who they are as people, and sends a message that their voices are valued.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

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