provider
Americannoun
-
providers
plural
-
a person or thing that provides.
-
a person who supports a family or another person.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
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!
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 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!
"A Raisin in the Sun," "My Father is a Simple Man," and "My Mother Pieced Quilts"
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:
Mental illnesses affect tens of millions of people every year, and barriers like high costs, insurance red tape and limited provider availability can make accessing mental healthcare difficult.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Your workplace may offer a perk where they contract with a provider for a certain amount of advice for employees — but even if that’s free for you, the adviser is still getting paid.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
SpaceX has made Nvidia its exclusive chip provider, Elon Musk said earlier this month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
This is the company that owns the cables in the area, not your energy provider.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
A provider, a good father, a man that Pastor Tom would be proud of.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
Steak ’n Shake’s revamp is led by Sardar Biglari, an activist investor and conservative figure who also owns Maxim magazine, insurance providers and oil companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
The U.S. president’s naming authority extends only to federal maps and agencies; other nations — and private map providers — are not obligated to adopt the change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Meanwhile, it paused some revenue-sharing deals with AI cloud providers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
It said a particular problem was the huge variation in what was being charged by non-NHS providers.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Anything to keep me away from the mental-health providers.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
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.
