provision

1 of 2

noun

pro·​vi·​sion prə-ˈvi-zhən How to pronounce provision (audio)
1
a
: the act or process of providing
b
: the fact or state of being prepared beforehand
c
: a measure taken beforehand to deal with a need or contingency : preparation
made provision for replacements
2
: a stock of needed materials or supplies
especially : a stock of food
usually used in plural
3

provision

2 of 2

verb

pro·​vi·​sion prə-ˈvi-zhən How to pronounce provision (audio)
provisioned; provisioning prə-ˈvi-zhə-niŋ How to pronounce provision (audio)
-ˈvizh-niŋ

transitive verb

: to supply with needed materials (such as food) : to supply with provisions

Examples of provision in a Sentence

Noun The President, of all people, should know how difficult it is to take care of basic things like, say, prescription drugs for the elderly or shelter from the storm—especially if your government places a low priority on the efficient provision of public services and a high priority on the care and feeding of cronies … Joe Klein, Time, 6 Feb. 2006
Nothing was overlooked. There was a fallback position, a fail-safe provision, for any contingency. Gary Wills, New York Times Book Review, 1 Apr. 2001
They wheedled the American Congress into awarding entry terms more favorable than those enjoyed by any other state, including two unique provisions: Texas and not the federal government would own all public lands, and the state would retain forever the right to divide into five smaller states if that proved attractive, each one to have two senators and a proportionate number of representatives. James A. Michener, Texas, 1985
Provisions should be made for regular inspections. He made provisions to donate part of his fortune to charity after he died. You should make provision for emergencies. I carried my provisions in one large backpack. We brought enough provisions to last the entire trip. Verb Few modern eaters consume such a wide range of plants, fruits, and animals, even when provisioned by a vast international or multi-ethnic marketplace. Donna R. Gabaccia, We Are What We Eat, 1998
But biographies, like translations, are rarely provisioned to last forever, for they reflect the world of their authors as much as their subjects. Morris Dickstein, New York Times Book Review, 1 Feb. 1998
As the cubs began to feed more regularly on meat, she provisioned them with hares, hyraxes, an Egyptian mongoose, and guinea fowl. John A. Cavallo, Natural History, February 1990
They stopped to provision the ship. the climbers were sufficiently provisioned to withstand just about any mountaineering emergency
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
An Illinois bill would void contracts between libraries and publishers that include certain provisions, such as restricting a library’s right to determine loan periods for licensed electronic material. Susan Haigh, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024 Those provisions have broad support from lawmakers in both parties who see them as important for some of Biden’s economic goals, like unleashing a clean energy boom. Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024 One provision will prevent the sale of oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. Kevin Freking, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2024 The provisions were priorities of the House, which like the Senate has long sought free-market solutions to bring down the high cost of healthcare. Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 The Free Enterprise Club argues certain provisions of the manual violate First Amendment free speech rights. Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2024 The final version removed provisions requiring disclosure of some emissions produced by a company’s entire business chain and expanded exemptions for smaller companies. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 The coming appellate fight will aim to answer tricky questions about the anti-SLAPP statute – a provision that is often used to fight back against defamation lawsuits, not against discrimination lawsuit filed by former employees against their employer. Bill Donahue, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024 Another provision strengthens gun rights for certain veterans. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
At the same time, much of a typical IT pro’s job involves complex and labor-intensive work such as setting up computers, provisioning apps to onboard new employees and staying on top of patches, updates and configuration changes across hundreds of SaaS apps and other systems. Douglas Murray, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 There were about 1,000 active medical and recreational marijuana provisioning center licenses in both December 2023 and December 2022 (one store could hold two licenses), according to CRA data. Detroit Free Press, 9 Feb. 2024 The question then arises, what is cloud provisioning a chore? Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 In an industry that can't abide spending a few millimeters of space on a headphone jack, slotting a plastic chip into your device just to provision you for service is unacceptable. Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 17 Apr. 2023 Teams still provision for peak resource requirements, leaving much of their infrastructure idle. Glenn Solomon, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023 The Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill to continue funding the government at current levels into mid-November, which would also provision some of the billions of dollars President Biden seeks for U.S. aide to Ukraine and for natural disaster relief. Marianna Sotomayor, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023 Late Tuesday, the Senate clinched a deal to fund the government into November, a short-term arrangement that would restore FEMA's budget and provision $6 billion in emergency money. Tony Romm The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2023 Late Tuesday, the Senate clinched a deal to fund the government into November, a short-term arrangement that would restore FEMA’s budget and provision $6 billion in emergency money. Tony Romm, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'provision.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin provision-, provisio act of providing, from Latin, foresight, from providēre to see ahead — more at provide

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1809, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of provision was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near provision

Cite this Entry

“Provision.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/provision. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

provision

1 of 2 noun
pro·​vi·​sion prə-ˈvizh-ən How to pronounce provision (audio)
1
a
: the act or process of providing
provision of transportation for the trip
b
: something done beforehand : preparation
make provision for emergencies
2
: a stock of materials or supplies
especially : a stock of food
usually used in plural
3
: condition entry 1 sense 1
a constitutional provision

provision

2 of 2 verb
provisioned; provisioning -ˈvizh-(ə-)niŋ How to pronounce provision (audio)
: to supply with provisions

Legal Definition

provision

noun
pro·​vi·​sion prə-ˈvi-zhən How to pronounce provision (audio)
: a stipulation (as a clause in a statute or contract) made beforehand

More from Merriam-Webster on provision

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