supply

1 of 3

noun

sup·​ply sə-ˈplī How to pronounce supply (audio)
plural supplies
1
a
: the quantity or amount (as of a commodity) needed or available
beer was in short supply in that hot weatherNevil 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

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 suppliedBulletin 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 noun

supply

3 of 3

less common spelling of supplely

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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
Yields have moved higher and there has been a few weeks of strong supply as issuers try to raise money before the election. Michelle Fox, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2024 This worked great until supply overwhelmed demand and the product started trading at a discount to NAV in secondary markets for years. Alexander S. Blume, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
Buyers can supply their own truck or source one through Tiger; the Panthera is constructed to match Ford F-350 styling, but Tiger can also work with Chevy and Ram trucks. New Atlas, 2 Nov. 2024 First, Lamb Weston improperly executed a rollout of a new enterprise resource planning system, which has led to difficulties tracking and supplying product to its customers. Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for supply 

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

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

Dictionary Entries Near supply

Cite this Entry

“Supply.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supply. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

supply

1 of 2 verb
sup·​ply sə-ˈplī How to pronounce supply (audio)
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 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 How to pronounce supply (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on supply

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