supply
1to 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.
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?
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
1Other words from supply
- sup·pli·er, noun
- un·sup·plied, adjective
- well-sup·plied, adjective
How to use supply in a sentence
According to the report, the factory’s website said it supplied GoerTek, which makes Apple’s AirPods.
Apple is lobbying against a bill aimed at stopping forced labor in China | Reed Albergotti | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostRather than continuing to try to use the free LabGuns, the company kept buying TaqPaths, which Puritz said had not been in short supply.
Hogan’s first batch of coronavirus tests from South Korea were flawed, never used | Steve Thompson | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostLee has modeled dispensing strategies for vaccines and medical supplies for Zika, Ebola, and influenza, and is now working on Covid-19.
About 6% of natural gas supplies, and 2% of coal, is used to create hydrogen, according to the International Energy Agency.
The hydrogen economy: Hyped for years, the most abundant element in the universe is finally having its moment | kdunn6 | November 19, 2020 | FortuneThat would draw the eye of water providers like Metropolitan looking for more supply to Imperial Valley.
Outsiders Are Wary of San Diego’s Multibillion-Dollar Pipeline Plan | MacKenzie Elmer | November 17, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
This means supplying proteins and fats because our bodies tend to need to eat less frequently when we consume them.
But that role expanded as Ravi began supplying George with spiritual books to read as well.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More | Gary Wright | September 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOn October 26 they were assigned to attack a power plant supplying the North Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
Russia is almost overtly supplying the separatists with military support.
He profited a great deal from knowing how to keep the reporters on his side, supplying the newspapermen with great material.
A system of supplying school-children with penny dinners is the latest philanthropic movement.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellOur nicely worked out system for supplying the troops has in a moment been tangled up into a hundred knotty problems.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonWhere the soil is deficient in lime, it must necessarily act by supplying that substance to the plants growing in it.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry | Thomas AndersonBank opened in Philadelphia for supplying the army with provisions, and 189,000 subscribed, payable in gold and silver.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellThe bridge is worked by hydraulic power, an accumulator with a load of 34 tons supplying pressure water at 630 lb per sq. in.
British Dictionary definitions for supply (1 of 2)
/ (səˈplaɪ) /
(tr often foll by with) to furnish with something that is required: to 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; satisfy: who 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)
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 price: Compare 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
Origin of supply
1Derived forms of supply
- suppliable, adjective
- supplier, noun
British Dictionary definitions for supply (2 of 2)
supplely (ˈsʌpəlɪ)
/ (ˈsʌplɪ) /
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
The amount of any given commodity available for sale at a given time.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with supply
see in short supply.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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