supply

[suh-plahy]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR supply ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), sup·plied, sup·ply·ing.

to furnish or provide (a person, establishment, place, etc.) with what is lacking or requisite: to supply someone clothing; to supply a community with electricity.

to furnish or provide (something wanting or requisite): to supply electricity to a community.

to make up, compensate for, or satisfy (a deficiency, loss, need, etc.): The TVA supplied the need for cheap electricity.

to fill or occupy as a substitute, as a vacancy, a pulpit, etc.: During the summer local clergymen will supply the pulpit.

verb (used without object), sup·plied, sup·ply·ing.

to fill the place of another, especially the pulpit of a church, temporarily or as a substitute: Who will supply until the new minister arrives?

noun, plural sup·plies.

the act of supplying, furnishing, providing, satisfying, etc.: to begin the supply of household help.

something that is supplied: The storm cut off our water supply.

a quantity of something on hand or available, as for use; a stock or store: Did you see our new supply of shirts?

Usually supplies. a provision, stock, or store of food or other things necessary for maintenance: to lay in supplies for the winter.

Economics. the quantity of a commodity that is in the market and available for purchase or that is available for purchase at a particular price.

supplies, Military.

all items necessary for the equipment, maintenance, and operation of a military command, including food, clothing, arms, ammunition, fuel, materials, and machinery.
procurement, distribution, maintenance, and salvage of supplies.

a person who fills a vacancy or takes the place of another, especially temporarily.

supplies. Obsolete. reinforcement(def 4).

Obsolete. aid.

Origin of supply

1325–75; (v.) Middle English sup(p)lien < Middle French souplier, variant of soupleer ≪ Latin supplēre to fill up, equivalent to sup- sup- + plēre to fill (see full¹); (noun) late Middle English: aid, succor, derivative of the v.

Related formssup·pli·er, nounun·sup·plied, adjectivewell-sup·plied, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for supplier

limited, short-lived, brief, makeshift, interim, transitory, provisional, momentary, tactical, short, supply, perishable, alternate, ephemeral, fugitive, summary, acting, transient, mortal, impermanent

Examples from the Web for supplier

Contemporary Examples of supplier

MK Chambers Company Michigan-based supplier of specialty machining.
The 26 Next Hobby Lobbys
Abby Haglage
December 17, 2014
MK Chambers Company Michigan-based supplier of specialty machining.
After Hobby Lobby, These 82 Corporations Could Drop Birth Control Coverage
Abby Haglage
June 30, 2014
MN Plastics Michigan-based supplier of custom injection molding products.
After Hobby Lobby, These 82 Corporations Could Drop Birth Control Coverage
Abby Haglage
June 30, 2014
About 90 cents goes to the supplier and about 50 cents goes to the troop.
Why Are Girl Scout Camps Being Closed?
Alessandra Rafferty
January 12, 2014
Cree is primarily a supplier to commercial and industrial users.
Why You Should Give LED Light Bulbs for Christmas. Seriously.
Daniel Gross
December 4, 2013

Historical Examples of supplier

You know—they ask for one thing, and get the wrong weight, or their supplier is out of material, or something goes wrong.
Bear Trap
Alan Edward Nourse
For the present the supplier of brittle goods is satisfied, and for the future—well, I leave it to luck.
The Youngest Girl in the Fifth
Angela Brazil
Some countries publish the minutes of the tender committee (which has to explain WHY it selected this or that supplier).
After the Rain
Sam Vaknin
The goddess Themis in the early Greek mythology was the goddess of order as well as the supplier of themistes or decisions.
Concerning Justice
Lucilius A. Emery
At this time Gay had been serving as the chief organizer and supplier of the forces of Kazagrandi.
Beasts, Men and Gods
Ferdinand Ossendowski

British Dictionary definitions for supplier

supply

verb -plies, -plying or -plied

(tr often foll by with) to furnish with something that is requiredto supply the community with good government

(tr; often foll by to or for) to make available or provide (something that is desired or lacking)to supply books to the library

(tr) to provide for adequately; make good; satisfywho will supply their needs?

to serve as a substitute, usually temporary, in (another's position, etc)there are no clergymen to supply the pulpit

(tr) British to fill (a vacancy, position, etc)

noun plural -plies

the act of providing or something that is provided
(as modifier)a supply dump

(often plural) an amount available for use; stock

(plural) food, equipment, etc, needed for a campaign or trip

economics

willingness and ability to offer goods and services for sale
the amount of a commodity that producers are willing and able to offer for sale at a specified priceCompare demand (def. 9)

military

the management and disposal of food and equipment
(as modifier)supply routes

(often plural) a grant of money voted by a legislature for government expenses, esp those not covered by other revenues

(in Parliament and similar legislatures) the money voted annually for the expenses of the civil service and armed forces

a person who acts as a temporary substitute
(as modifier)a supply vicar

a source of electrical energy, gas, etc

obsolete aid or assistance

Derived Formssuppliable, adjectivesupplier, noun

Word Origin for supply

C14: from Old French souppleier, from Latin supplēre to complete, from sub- up + plēre to fill

supply

supplely (ˈsʌpəlɪ)

adverb

in a supple manner

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

Word Origin and History for supplier

supply

late 14c., "to help, support, maintain," also "fill up, make up for," from Old French supplier "fill up, make full," from Latin supplere "fill up, complete," from sub "up from below" + plere "to fill" (see pleio-). The meaning "furnish, provide" first recorded 1520s. Related: Supplied; supplying.

supply

early 15c., "assistance, relief," from supply (v.). Meaning "quantity or amount of something provided" is attested from c.1600. In the political economy sense (corollary of demand) it dates from 1776. Supply-side in reference to economic policy is attested from 1976. Supplies "provisions" is from c.1650.

supplier in Culture

supply

The amount of any given commodity available for sale at a given time.

Idioms and Phrases with supplier

supply

see in short supply.