supply

verb

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

Synonyms of supply

• equip
• furnish
• provision

Examples of supply in a Sentence

The company supplied the necessary money.

You'll have to supply your own food.

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump has effectively imposed a fuel blockade on the island by threatening tariffs on countries supplying it with fuel, igniting seemingly endless power outages and delivering new blows to the island's already ailing economy. —Phil Stewart, USA Today, 30 May 2026

Of note, Vulcan uses the same BE-4 engines on its core stage supplied by Blue Origin that are used on New Glenn, which uses seven BE-4 engines. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 May 2026

During the war, Iran had fired missiles at civilian targets including hotels and airports but launched very few projectiles on critical desalination plants that supply fresh water to millions in the region. —Cnn Staff, CNN Money, 29 May 2026

Brlan said the planter boxes along with artificial turf, plants and soil supplied by Uplift Property Management were a huge addition to the new garden. —Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

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

Phrases Containing supply

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

Rhymes for supply

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

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