supply
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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supplies,
present (3rd person singular)
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supplied,
past participle, past
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supplying
present participle
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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.
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to furnish or provide (something wanting or requisite).
to supply electricity to a community.
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to make up, compensate for, or satisfy (a deficiency, loss, need, etc.).
The TVA supplied the need for cheap electricity.
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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)
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supplies,
present (3rd person singular)
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supplied,
past participle, past
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supplying
present participle
noun
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supplies
plural
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the act of supplying, furnishing, providing, satisfying, etc..
to begin the supply of household help.
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something that is supplied.
The storm cut off our water supply.
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a quantity of something on hand or available, as for use; a stock or store.
Did you see our new supply of shirts?
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Usually supplies a provision, stock, or store of food or other things necessary for maintenance.
to lay in supplies for the winter.
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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.
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Military. supplies,
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all items necessary for the equipment, maintenance, and operation of a military command, including food, clothing, arms, ammunition, fuel, materials, and machinery.
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procurement, distribution, maintenance, and salvage of supplies.
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a person who fills a vacancy or takes the place of another, especially temporarily.
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Obsolete. supplies. reinforcement.
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Obsolete. aid.
adverb
verb
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to furnish with something that is required
to supply the community with good government
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(tr; often foll by to or for) to make available or provide (something that is desired or lacking)
to supply books to the library
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(tr) to provide for adequately; make good; satisfy
who will supply their needs?
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to serve as a substitute, usually temporary, in (another's position, etc)
there are no clergymen to supply the pulpit
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(tr) to fill (a vacancy, position, etc)
noun
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the act of providing or something that is provided
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( as modifier )
a supply dump
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(often plural) an amount available for use; stock
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(plural) food, equipment, etc, needed for a campaign or trip
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economics
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willingness and ability to offer goods and services for sale
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the amount of a commodity that producers are willing and able to offer for sale at a specified price Compare demand
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military
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the management and disposal of food and equipment
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( as modifier )
supply routes
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(often plural) a grant of money voted by a legislature for government expenses, esp those not covered by other revenues
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(in Parliament and similar legislatures) the money voted annually for the expenses of the civil service and armed forces
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a person who acts as a temporary substitute
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( as modifier )
a supply vicar
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a source of electrical energy, gas, etc
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obsolete aid or assistance
adverb
Usage
What is a basic definition of supply? The word supply is used as a verb to mean to provide something. As a noun, supply refers to a stockpile or quantity of something. Supply has several other senses as a verb or a noun. As a verb, supply means to give something. You might supply something in response to a request for that item, as when a clothing factory supplies a department store with new clothes in return for money. You might supply something that satisfies a need, as when plants supply us with oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Or you might supply something in order to make up for a deficiency, as when a food pantry supplies food for hungry people.
- Real-life examples: A hydroelectric dam can supply a city with electricity. Soup kitchens supply impoverished people with food. Nature often supplies water and sunlight to plants.
- Used in a sentence: The teacher supplied pencils and paper to the students.
- Real-life examples: Hospitals keep a supply of blood to use for emergencies. It is a good idea to keep an ample supply of toilet paper so you never run out. Soldiers are often given a lot of supplies to carry with them in case of problems.
- Used in a sentence: The grocery story was running low on its supply of milk.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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supplysimple
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suppliessimple
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have suppliedperfect
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has suppliedperfect
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am supplyingprogressive
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are supplyingprogressive
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is supplyingprogressive
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have been supplyingperfect progressive
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has been supplyingperfect progressive
Past
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suppliedsimple
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had suppliedperfect
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was supplyingprogressive
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were supplyingprogressive
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had been supplyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of supply1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb sup(p)lien “to fill up, complete,” from Middle French souplier, soupleer, ultimately from Latin supplēre “to fill up” (equivalent to sup- prefix + plēre “to fill”); noun derivative of the verb; see sup- full 1
Origin of supply2
Explanation
To supply the definition of a word is to provide that definition. That's supply used as a verb. If you're talking about the noun, however, then the supply is the thing itself. People who think the world is coming to an end generally like to keep a supply of fresh water on hand. Though, if the world did come to an end, you wouldn't need to supply water to anyone, would you? That's a case of supplying a supply. If there is a big enough demand for ping-pong balls, a person could get rich, if they controlled the supply. Having to supply all those balls could be exhausting, though.
Vocabulary lists containing supply
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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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:
The speed at which rivers, reservoirs and groundwater storage tops up is also important, but this needs to be balanced out against the demand we and industry put on water supply.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The group said the $1 billion in savings will begin in the current fiscal year, and will be achieved from work on operations and on its supply chain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Experts said the move does nothing to address California’s supply challenges, energy prices or climate change goals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Honeywell Aerospace surprised Wall Street by cutting its outlook late Wednesday, saying its mechanical-parts supply chain had been slower to improve.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
It was not long, of course, before our supply of food ran out.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
One prisoner refers to a "rocket testing site" while discussing bratwurst supplies for the top brass.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
A gauge of prices that companies pay for supplies, however, stayed above the critical 70% threshold for the fifth time in the past six months.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
This summer has been exceptionally dry and hot, with temperatures setting numerous records and drought conditions leaving water supplies under strain and prompting warnings from farmers about the impact on food supplies.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Closure of the key Strait of Hormuz chokepoint on the Persian Gulf left countries scrambling for replacement oil and gas supplies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
In the summer barges bring supplies up the river to the villages.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
The mint also uses recycled silver, some of it extracted from old radios supplied by British hospitals.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
The providers of public and private ratings are very different: 90% of public ratings are supplied by the three largest rating agencies, while roughly 85% of private ratings are supplied by many smaller rating agencies.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Despite a false positive sample of lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, the FDA says it is still looking at produce from the company as the source of the current oubreak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
In the last edition of the World Cup, the Women's World Cup and the Club World Cup - Fifa's flagship events - Uefa supplied three of the four semi-finalists.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Waiting for us at the side of the road was Hector Diaz Castellano, one of the farmers who supplied Ramirez Leyva’s store.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
If Vought is supplying the ideological vision, Mark Paoletta is supplying the legal architecture to carry it out.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
At the same time, the disc supplying material to the black hole underwent major changes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
By momentum, Krinsky is referring to highflying stocks investors have been chasing this year, such as chip names, favored for their crucial role in supplying the artificial-intelligence build-out.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Terekh says that from 2022 to 2024 Ukrainian authorities were desperately searching for manufacturers capable of supplying weapons, and insists the company welcomes audits, oversight and transparency.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Also, by 2000, traders by the thousands had begun to move back and forth across the border supplying food and goods for markets that had all but replaced the government’s public distribution system.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
