provider
AmericanOther Word Forms
- nonprovider noun
Etymology
Origin of provider
Explanation
A provider is a person who gives someone something they need. If your parents both have jobs so they can feed you and buy you what you need, you can call them providers. Your mom's a provider if she works so she can care for you, put food on the table, and send you to school. There are other types of providers as well, although they all give you something you need, often a service. Your school is a provider of education, and the pharmacy around the corner is a provider of medication, makeup, and magazines. It's increasingly common to call your main doctor a "primary care provider."
Vocabulary lists containing provider
Father's Day Words
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 5
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"A Raisin in the Sun," "My Father is a Simple Man," and "My Mother Pieced Quilts"
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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.
More than 12 percent of American households stash their overflow in rented storage spaces, according to Noah Starr, founder and CEO of TractIQ, a leading market data provider.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
The PIF owns a majority of Lucid shares, and has been a key provider of capital over the years.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
"That is really clear, and we've been really clear that Palantir in any provider doesn't have access or cannot share patient data for their own use."
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
The electric-vehicle maker said it will be led by Silvio Napoli, the former CEO and executive chairman of the Schindler Group, a Switzerland-based manufacturer and service provider focused on elevators and escalators.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
And so Frightful hunted with Mole, as she had hunted with Sam, and became the provider Chup and the eyases needed.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
