supply

1 of 3

noun

plural supplies

1

a

: the quantity or amount (as of a commodity) needed or available

beer was in short supply in that hot weather

—Nevil Shute

b

: provisions, stores

—usually used in plural

c

: a member of the clergy filling a vacant pulpit temporarily

d

obsolete : reinforcements

—often used in plural

2

: the act or process of filling a want or need

engaged in the supply of raw materials to industry

3

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

4

: something that maintains or constitutes a supply

5

obsolete : assistance, succor

supply

2 of 3

verb

sup·​ply sə-ˈplī 

supplied; supplying

transitive verb

1

a

: to make available for use : provide

supplied the necessary funds

b

: to satisfy the needs or wishes of

c

: to provide for : satisfy

laws by which the material wants of men are supplied

—Bulletin of Bates College

d

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

2

: to substitute for another in

specifically : to serve as a supply in (a church or pulpit)

3

: to add as a supplement

intransitive verb

: to serve as a supply or substitute

supplier

sə-ˈplī(-ə)r 

noun

supply

3 of 3

less common spelling of supplely

Synonyms

Noun

• budget
• force
• fund
• inventory
• pool
• repertoire
• reservoir
• stock

Verb

• accoutre
• accouter
• equip
• fit (out)
• furnish
• gird
• kit (up or out) [chiefly British]
• outfit
• provision
• rig

Examples of supply in a Sentence

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.

Verb

The company supplied the necessary money.

You'll have to supply your own food.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And as the Colorado River shrank, corporations were growing increasingly thirsty for rural supplies. —Maanvi Singh, WIRED, 20 Apr. 2024

Other home deals at Target right now include 30 percent off select patio furniture, up to 40 percent off Shark floor care items, and 50 percent off packing supplies. —Nicola Fumo, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024

Growing demand due to the new ETFs, combined with the supply shock of the next halving, could help push bitcoin's price even higher, said Bitwise senior crypto research analyst Ryan Rasmussen. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 19 Apr. 2024

The last sugar mill in Texas has shut down due to the lack of water, at a time of low U.S. supplies and high prices for the sweetener. —Leah Douglas, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Apr. 2024

But when people stop selling their homes, there’s less supply, and really not enough to meet demand when coupled with our existing housing crisis (and still, fewer homes are being built). —Alena Botros, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024

The operation began Friday with supplies from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization in Panama, as well as the International Organization for Migration. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024

Just as cattle are fed poultry waste, chickens are often provided feeds that consist of cattle waste and renderings — creating a potential route for prions to re-enter the food supply. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024

Aid arriving in Israel's Ashdod Port enters Gaza for first time Food supplies that arrived in Israel through the Ashdod Port reached Gaza for the first time Wednesday, the IDF said. —Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024

Verb

Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut Zero Sugar has a little more of an artificial coconut bite than its full-sugar counterpart but still supplies the fruity flavor. —Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024

Top of mind is the recent conviction of Jennifer and James Crumbley, in Michigan, who supplied the handgun their son used in a school shooting. —Martin Kaste, NPR, 18 Apr. 2024

The Google workers protested their company’s $1.2 billion Project Nimbus contract, which supplies AI and cloud computing services to the Israeli government and military. —Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024

Riva launched the production electric version called the El-Iseo in January, with a Parker Hannifin motor and a battery-pack supplied by Podium Advanced Technologies, an auto tech company. —J. George Gorant, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024

Keeping global energy markets supplied to help cool inflation is a priority for the administration, officials acknowledge. —John Hudson, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024

Garland, too, is more than ready to supply the images. —The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024

America supplied Israel with the weaponry required to free the hostages and destroy Hamas as a coherent military force. —Matthew Continetti, National Review, 6 Apr. 2024

In October 2023, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced a one-year agreement with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to supply the state with gray wolves. —USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

derivative of supply entry 2

Verb

Middle English supplien "to fill up, accomplish, discharge (an office)," borrowed from Middle French soupplier "to add what is lacking to" (also souppleer, suploier "to make up for [a lack, deficiency]," suppleer a, soupplir "to replace"), going back to Latin supplēre "to fill up, complete, raise (a military unit, crew) to its full complement, make good a deficiency in," from sub- sub- + plēre "to fill" — more at full entry 1

Note: Though the French verb receives its semantic start with Latin supplēre, none of the great variety of formal outcomes appear to be directly traceable to it. Variants such as suploier and soupplier have evidently been crossed with outcomes of supplicāre "to sue for forgiveness, supplicate" (see also suppliant entry 1). The form suppleer, which may be directly behind Modern French suppléer, appears to have been both latinized (after supplēre) and conformed to verbs such as créer. The variant soupplir suggests the general Romance re-formation *supplīre (compare Old Occitan and Spanish suplir, Italian sopperire).

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 5

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Phrases Containing supply

• in short supply
• law of supply and demand
• money supply
• supply and demand
• supply chain
• supply line
• supply-side
• supply-side economics
• supply teacher
• the money supply
• water supply

Kids Definition

supply

1 of 2 verb

sup·​ply sə-ˈplī 

supplied; supplying

1

: to add as a supplement

2

a

: to provide for : satisfy

enough to supply the demand

b

: to make available for use

supplied the necessary money

c

: to satisfy the needs or wishes of

supplier

-ˈplī(-ə)r 

noun

supply

2 of 2 noun

plural supplies

1

a

: the quantity or amount of something that is needed or available

the nation's oil supply

b

: store entry 2 sense 1b

—usually used in plural

2

: the act or process of filling a want or need

3

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

Medical Definition

supply

transitive verb

sup·​ply sə-ˈplī 

supplied; supplying

: 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