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.
The proposed project includes 900 megawatts of power generated by fuel cells, with Bloom Energy named as the potential fuel cell provider.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
The logistics service provider also flags that fuel cost increases have limited impact on 1Q profitability, but could weigh more in 2Q, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal • 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
My mother was thirty-four years old now, with no husband, no provider or protector to take care of her eight children.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
