supply

¹ American  

[suh-plahy] / səˈplaɪ /

verb (used with object)

• supplies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• supplied,
  past participle,  past
• supplying
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to furnish or provide (something wanting or requisite).

   to supply electricity to a community.

3. to make up, compensate for, or satisfy (a deficiency, loss, need, etc.).

   The TVA supplied the need for cheap electricity.

4. to fill or occupy as a substitute, as a vacancy, a pulpit, etc..

   During the summer local clergymen will supply the pulpit.

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verb (used without object)

• supplies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• supplied,
  past participle,  past
• supplying
  present participle

1. 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

• supplies
  plural

1. the act of supplying, furnishing, providing, satisfying, etc..

   to begin the supply of household help.

2. something that is supplied.

   The storm cut off our water supply.

3. a quantity of something on hand or available, as for use; a stock or store.

   Did you see our new supply of shirts?

4. Usually supplies a provision, stock, or store of food or other things necessary for maintenance.

   to lay in supplies for the winter.

5. 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.

6. Military. supplies,

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

   2. procurement, distribution, maintenance, and salvage of supplies.

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

8. Obsolete. supplies. reinforcement.

9. Obsolete. aid.

supply ² American  

[suhp-lee] / ˈsʌp li /

adverb

1. in a supple manner or way; supplely.

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supply ¹ British  

/ səˈplaɪ /

verb

1. to furnish with something that is required

   to supply the community with good government

2. (tr; often foll by to or for) to make available or provide (something that is desired or lacking)

   to supply books to the library

3. (tr) to provide for adequately; make good; satisfy

   who will supply their needs?

4. to serve as a substitute, usually temporary, in (another's position, etc)

   there are no clergymen to supply the pulpit

5. (tr) to fill (a vacancy, position, etc)

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noun

1. 1. the act of providing or something that is provided

   2. ( as modifier )

      a supply dump

2. (often plural) an amount available for use; stock

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

4. economics

   1. willingness and ability to offer goods and services for sale

   2. the amount of a commodity that producers are willing and able to offer for sale at a specified price Compare demand

5. military

   1. the management and disposal of food and equipment

   2. ( as modifier )

      supply routes

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

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

8. 1. a person who acts as a temporary substitute

   2. ( as modifier )

      a supply vicar

9. a source of electrical energy, gas, etc

10. obsolete aid or assistance

supply ² British  

/ ˈsʌplɪ, ˈsʌpəlɪ /

adverb

1. in a supple manner

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supply Cultural  

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

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supply Idioms  

1. see in short supply.

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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.

As a noun, supply means an amount of something that has been stored up or stockpiled. For example, almost everyone keeps a supply of food in their house. The plural of supply is supplies and is used when more than one type of thing is being stored.

• 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

• supplier
  noun
• suppliable
  adjective
• unsupplied
  adjective
• well-supplied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• supplies
  plural

Participles

• supplying
  present
• supplied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• supply
  simple
• supplies
  simple
• have supplied
  perfect
• has supplied
  perfect
• am supplying
  progressive
• are supplying
  progressive
• is supplying
  progressive
• have been supplying
  perfect progressive
• has been supplying
  perfect progressive

Past

• supplied
  simple
• had supplied
  perfect
• was supplying
  progressive
• were supplying
  progressive
• had been supplying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will supply
  simple
• will have supplied
  perfect
• will be supplying
  progressive
• will have been supplying
  perfect progressive

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

First recorded in 1525–35; supple + -ly

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

supply supplies supplied supplying

The Fed stands ready to supply liquidity during panics, while the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation assures most depositors that they need not bear the consequences of choosing an unsound bank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

These events gave the team a rare opportunity to watch how a black hole behaves after suddenly receiving a large supply of stellar material.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

A new deposit takes roughly 18 years to reach production, so the chart above shows expected supply into the 2040s.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

He said Canada could supply critical minerals and gas and would seek access to European advanced technologies.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

“I made it. Turns out there's an endless fabric room in the Touch Tower supply rooms.”

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

QatarEnergy extended force majeure on contracted supplies for some buyers into early November.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

That could reduce dependence on newly mined resources, lower the environmental footprint of materials production, and strengthen domestic supplies of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

The tariffs, for instance, made it more costly for businesses to obtain supplies.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

He said the main source of uncertainty was policy in the US, which supplies LNG to the UK.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Construction crews haul supplies while women in skirts wheel laundry carts of paper between bald wooden huts.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

ORNL's Tao Wang contributed expertise in molten salt chemistry, while ORNL's Logan Kearney supplied high-density polymers and provided expert guidance on possible routes for converting them into higher-value products.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

Kinghan said the engines, as well other items and services he had supplied, had been delivered with the understanding that those running the museum were the "right people to be the trustees of the boat".

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

“Everyone does it,” they tell themselves in the hopes of being supplied some measure of cover upon being singled out.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

The weekly snack rotation, in which one parent supplied snacks for the entire 20-student class, came with its own strict rules: sprouted-grain bread only, nothing processed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

They carried a few belongings and a secret phone number supplied by the KGB.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

I myself have 5,000 acres of Wagyu and am happy to keep supplying it, but Australian ranchers have more to offer than meat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

The farm is also supplying its honey to the restaurant; accumulated at a small scale, the kitchen planned its use strategically.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

That would affect businesses selling advanced agents into regulated markets more directly than those supplying the hardware used to create them.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Nawec had warned in August that unusually high temperatures had driven a surge in electricity demand, while a technical problem had also affected a major generating unit supplying imported power.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Newspapers sprang into action, supplying readers with the information they craved.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• afford
• cater
• contribute
• deliver
• equip
• feed
• fill
• find
• grant
• hand over
• produce
• store
• transfer
• turn over
• yield