supply

[ suh-plahy ]

/ səˈplaɪ /

SEE 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.

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to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.

to cause to be empty or unoccupied.

to assent tacitly; agree; consent.

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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.

OTHER WORDS FROM supply

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

Words nearby supply

suppliancy, suppliant, supplicant, supplicate, supplication, supply, supply and demand, supply chain, supply-side, supply-side economics, supply-sider

Definition for supply (2 of 2)

supply²

[ suhp-lee ]

/ ˈsʌp li /

adverb

in a supple manner or way; supplely.

Origin of supply

First recorded in 1525–35; supple + -ly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for supply

In Mosul, foreign fighters have left, the city is flooded with refugees and supply routes are cut off.
Has the Kurdish Victory at Sinjar Turned the Tide of ISIS War?|Niqash|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It would seek to cut off the main Allied lines of supply and communication.
Hitler’s Hail Mary|James A. Warren|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Future was determined to supply it using the very modes of expression it had turned its back on.
Future Makes Us Rethink Everything We Thought We Knew About Rap Artists|Luke Hopping|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The survivors needed hope for a brighter future, and Murakami sought to supply a salving narrative through his art.
Takashi Murakami’s Art From Disaster|Justin Jones|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Walmart has gone even further, agreeing to extend this agreement to other crops in its supply chain.
We're All Living on The Supermarket Plantation|Lewis Beale|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The blast furnaces were not hurt at all, and will be in operation as soon as a supply of coke can be obtained.
The Johnstown Flood|Richard K. Fox
It no sooner knew that Mrs. Ben Wah wanted a parrot than it hustled about to supply one at once.
The Battle with the Slum|Jacob A. Riis.
The war, and perhaps other causes, have very seriously reduced our supply of meats, the waste of which cannot soon be repaired.
Address delivered by Hon. Henry H. Crapo, Governor of Michigan, before the Central Michigan Agricultural Society, at their Sheep-shearing Exhibition held at the Agricultural College Farm, on Thursday, May 24th, 1866|Henry Howland Crapo
Also the officers had money to supply many of their wants, but all this will appear in the course of the narrative.
American Prisoners of the Revolution|Danske Dandridge
Even Miss Bradbury seemed elated over this remarkable coincidence of need and supply on both sides.
Six Girls and Bob|Marion Ames Taggart

British Dictionary definitions for supply (1 of 2)

supply¹

/ (səˈplaɪ) /

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 forms of supply

suppliable, adjectivesupplier, noun

Word Origin for supply

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

British Dictionary definitions for supply (2 of 2)

supply²

supplely (ˈsʌpəlɪ)

/ (ˈsʌplɪ) /

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

Cultural definitions for supply

supply

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

Idioms and Phrases with supply

supply

see in short supply.

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WORD OF THE DAY

supply

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