pro·vi·sion
prə-ˈvi-zhən 
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
pro·vi·sion
prə-ˈvi-zhən
provisioned; provisioning
prə-ˈvi-zhə-niŋ
-ˈvizh-niŋ
: to supply with needed materials (such as food) : to supply with provisions
Synonyms
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
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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
See More
Recent Examples on the WebSutton Tyson, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2023
Instead, such lawsuits filed under that provision must come from the Justice Department, the appeals court ruled.
—Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner, 20 Nov. 2023
Oregon passed a similar law in 2020 which included provisions for treatment, but of the 6,000-plus tickets issued for drug possession under the new law less than a hundred individuals sought help of any kind, instead opting to pay a small fine or just ignore it completely.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 18 Nov. 2023
United Auto Workers at General Motors on Thursday approved a contract with record wage gains and other worker-friendly provisions, marking one of the starkest wins yet in a year of victories for the labor movement.
—Wali Khan, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
Among its key provisions, the law allows students to use state dollars to attend a private or home school, something Tennille said has offended many Arkansans who take great pride in their local public schools.
—Michael R. Wickline, arkansasonline.com, 15 Nov. 2023
Wayne included a provision in his bill that made coastal water testing optional if the state didn’t pay for it.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Nov. 2023
Alabama is the other state without such a provision, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group and the American Association for Justice.
—Zoe Rohrich, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2023
The Justice Department has been investigating Apple since 2019, and this settlement is the largest ever obtained under the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provision.
—Jena McGregor, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
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
That provisioned roughly $400 billion in new tax credits and other policies to reduce carbon emissions while empowering the government to help lower seniors' health-care costs.
—Tony Romm The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 10 July 2023
That provisioned roughly $400 billion in new tax credits and other policies to reduce carbon emissions while empowering the government to help lower seniors’ health-care costs.
—Tony Romm, Washington Post, 9 July 2023
Consider what kind of control your IT team needs—control over endpoints, provisioning and deprovisioning devices, patch management for web applications, conditional access policy management—and look for a directory solution that can offer one identity to manage them all.
—Rajat Bhargava, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023
Furthermore, women could obtain both these resources on their own, freeing them from relying on men to provision them and their children with high-quality food.
—Curtis W. Marean, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016
But lawmakers once again failed to provision any new emergency money to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, as Republicans maintained their fierce opposition even as the Biden administration stressed that the aid is necessary to protect against a future surge.
—Arkansas Online, 23 Dec. 2022
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Noun
The government has been pressing for its renewal over the objections of a number of Republicans and Democrats who distrust the provision for different reasons.
—Sutton Tyson, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2023
Instead, such lawsuits filed under that provision must come from the Justice Department, the appeals court ruled.
—Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner, 20 Nov. 2023
Oregon passed a similar law in 2020 which included provisions for treatment, but of the 6,000-plus tickets issued for drug possession under the new law less than a hundred individuals sought help of any kind, instead opting to pay a small fine or just ignore it completely.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 18 Nov. 2023
United Auto Workers at General Motors on Thursday approved a contract with record wage gains and other worker-friendly provisions, marking one of the starkest wins yet in a year of victories for the labor movement.
—Wali Khan, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
Among its key provisions, the law allows students to use state dollars to attend a private or home school, something Tennille said has offended many Arkansans who take great pride in their local public schools.
—Michael R. Wickline, arkansasonline.com, 15 Nov. 2023
Wayne included a provision in his bill that made coastal water testing optional if the state didn’t pay for it.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Nov. 2023
Alabama is the other state without such a provision, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group and the American Association for Justice.
—Zoe Rohrich, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2023
The Justice Department has been investigating Apple since 2019, and this settlement is the largest ever obtained under the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provision.
—Jena McGregor, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
Verb
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
That provisioned roughly $400 billion in new tax credits and other policies to reduce carbon emissions while empowering the government to help lower seniors' health-care costs.
—Tony Romm The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 10 July 2023
That provisioned roughly $400 billion in new tax credits and other policies to reduce carbon emissions while empowering the government to help lower seniors’ health-care costs.
—Tony Romm, Washington Post, 9 July 2023
Consider what kind of control your IT team needs—control over endpoints, provisioning and deprovisioning devices, patch management for web applications, conditional access policy management—and look for a directory solution that can offer one identity to manage them all.
—Rajat Bhargava, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023
Furthermore, women could obtain both these resources on their own, freeing them from relying on men to provision them and their children with high-quality food.
—Curtis W. Marean, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016
But lawmakers once again failed to provision any new emergency money to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, as Republicans maintained their fierce opposition even as the Biden administration stressed that the aid is necessary to protect against a future surge.
—Arkansas Online, 23 Dec. 2022
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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 3 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
provision
1 of 2 noun
pro·vi·sion
prə-ˈvizh-ən
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
Legal Definition
provision
noun
pro·vi·sion
prə-ˈvi-zhən
: a stipulation (as a clause in a statute or contract) made beforehand
More from Merriam-Webster on provision
Nglish: Translation of provision for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of provision for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about provision
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