supply

verb

sup·ply | \sə-ˈplī

supplied; supplying

Definition of supply

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to add as a supplement

2 [ Middle French souploier, alteration of soupplier ]

a : to provide for : satisfy laws by which the material wants of men are supplied — Bulletin of Bates College

b : to make available for use : provide supplied the necessary funds

c : to satisfy the needs or wishes of

d : to furnish (organs, tissues, or cells) with a vital element (such as blood or nerve fibers)

3 : to substitute for another in specifically : to serve as a supply in (a church or pulpit)

intransitive verb

: to serve as a supply or substitute

supply

noun

plural supplies

Definition of supply (Entry 2 of 2)

1 obsolete : assistance, succor

2a obsolete : reinforcements —often used in plural

b : a member of the clergy filling a vacant pulpit temporarily

c : the quantity or amount (as of a commodity) needed or available beer was in short supply in that hot weather— Nevil Shute

d : provisions, stores —usually used in plural

3 : the act or process of filling a want or need engaged in the supply of raw materials to industry

4 : the quantities of goods or services offered for sale at a particular time or at one price

5 : something that maintains or constitutes a supply

Other Words from supply Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about supply

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of supply in a Sentence

Verb

The company supplied the necessary money. You'll have to supply your own food.

Noun

adequate supplies of fresh water He bought a month's supply of cigarettes. They took a month's worth of supplies on the camping trip. The town is in need of basic medical supplies. a store that sells art supplies The state is trying to disrupt the supply of illegal drugs. The storm interrupted the town's electricity supply.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Australia was one of the first Western countries to move against the company, barring it as far back as 2012 from supplying equipment for Australia’s high-speed national broadband. — Mayumi Negishi, WSJ, "U.S. Allies Raise New Security Worries About China’s Huawei," 7 Dec. 2018 Remember to order specialty items like dish boxes, wardrobe boxes, and mattress bags if your mover is not supplying them. — Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "Follow This Weekly Moving Checklist for a Smooth, Stress-Free Transition," 5 Dec. 2018 Securing the rights to some big-market team games in major professional sports — including the New York Yankees — would be a big step for Amazon in supplying subscribers with more live sports games. — Julia Alexander, The Verge, "Amazon reportedly bidding on multiple Fox sports channels," 20 Nov. 2018 In 1733, the ruling shogun placated his people by supplying gunpowder for a show above the Sumida River in modern Tokyo. — Laura Mallonee, WIRED, "'Fire Flowers' Dazzle in Gorgeous Photos of Japanese Fireworks," 4 July 2018 Penton died in February 2015 of an overdose, and Liszka was charged with supplying the heroin that Penton took. — Clifford Ward, chicagotribune.com, "Man convicted of drug-induced homicide 'mortified' by role in overdose death," 26 June 2018 While Merlin provides members access to their data through a portal, Merlin will never compete by supplying an artist dashboard. — Ed Christman, Billboard, "Merlin Primed to Reach $500 Million in Annual Collections for Indie Label Members," 18 June 2018 Islam was convicted of two counts of indecent assault, one count of rape and one count each of of supplying a class A, B and C drug. — Adam Carlson, PEOPLE.com, "'Courageous' Women Face Gang That Sexually Abused Them Over 7 Years: They 'Would Not Be Silenced'," 13 June 2018 Other deals for supplying companies with ingredients for salad dressings and other products haven't materialized either, Francisco said. — Grace Schneider, The Courier-Journal, "Dozens will lose jobs when Dean Foods closes its plant amid milk crisis," 1 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

An unexpected influx of supply, coupled with growing economic uncertainty, sent prices sliding and upended calls for $100-a-barrel crude. — Stephanie Yang, WSJ, "Oil’s Sharp Swings Are a Symptom of a Changing Market," 9 Dec. 2018 And he’d frequently called for more money, supplies, and attention to the problem of refugees and drugs coming into the US from Latin America. — Andrew Prokop, Vox, "John Kelly is out as White House chief of staff, Trump announces," 8 Dec. 2018 The increased attention, Coleman says, has resulted in significantly more demand, more limited supply, and higher retail prices (akin to Pappy Van Winkle). — Sam Dangremond, Town & Country, "Why You Should Be Drinking Japanese Whiskey Now," 15 Nov. 2018 These cones stay on the tree from year to year, increasing the tree’s seed supply, until a fire erupts. — Kristen Pope, Discover Magazine, "Wildfire Engulfed Yellowstone 30 Years Ago. Its Recovery Could Predict The Future of the West," 12 Nov. 2018 One way to avoid a sudden power demise is to get an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for when tragedy strikes. — Ian Paul, PCWorld, "Protect against outages with this $35, six outlet uninterruptible power supply," 9 Oct. 2018 Other tasks for Zabel included looking at the quality of the harvest, picking up microbiological samples and checking on the systems (light, temperature regulation, and air supply enriched by nutrients and carbon dioxide). — Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, "Antarctica Greenhouse Produces Cucumbers, Tomatoes and More in Mars-Like Test," 24 Sep. 2018 Even city of Elgin and school districts like Naperville 203 and Indian Prairie 204 are relying more on Amazon to purchase office supplies, books, furniture electronics and more. — Suzanne Baker, Naperville Sun, "Governmental bodies jumping on Amazon bandwagon," 12 July 2018 The alternatives, including U.S. supplies, are more expensive. — Jonathan Lemire And Jill Colvin, Houston Chronicle, "Trump rattles NATO, knocking its value, assailing Germany," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'supply.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about supply

Dictionary Entries near supply

Statistics for supply

Last Updated

15 Dec 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for supply

The first known use of supply was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for supply

supply

verb

English Language Learners Definition of supply

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to make (something) available to be used : to provide someone or something with (something that is needed or wanted)

supply

noun

English Language Learners Definition of supply (Entry 2 of 2)

: the amount of something that is available to be used

supplies : things (such as food, equipment, fuel, etc.) that are needed for a particular purpose and that will be used by a particular person or group

: the process or system by which something is provided to a person, place, etc.

See the full definition for supply in the English Language Learners Dictionary

supply

verb

sup·ply | \sə-ˈplī

supplied; supplying

Kids Definition of supply

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to provide for : satisfy There is enough to supply the demand.

2 : to make available : furnish The tree supplies shade.

supply

noun

plural supplies

Kids Definition of supply (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the amount of something that is needed or can be gotten medical supplies

2 : store entry 2 sense 3 I keep a supply of pencils in my desk.

3 : the act or process of providing something The company is engaged in the supply of raw materials.

supply

transitive verb

sup·ply | \sə-ˈplī

supplied; supplying

Medical Definition of supply

: to furnish (organs, tissues, or cells) with a vital element (as blood or nerve fibers) —used of nerves and blood vessels the mandibular foramen transmits blood vessels and nerves supplying the lower teeth