supply1

[suh-plahy] /səˈplaɪ/
verb (used with object), supplied, supplying.
1.
to furnish or provide (a person, establishment, place, etc.) with what is lacking or requisite:
to supply someone clothing; to supply a community with electricity.
2.
to furnish or provide (something wanting or requisite):
to supply electricity to a community.
3.
to make up, compensate for, or satisfy (a deficiency, loss, need, etc.):
The TVA supplied the need for cheap electricity.
4.
to fill or occupy as a substitute, as a vacancy, a pulpit, etc.:
During the summer local clergymen will supply the pulpit.
verb (used without object), supplied, supplying.
5.
to fill the place of another, especially the pulpit of a church, temporarily or as a substitute:
Who will supply until the new minister arrives?
noun, plural supplies.
6.
the act of supplying, furnishing, providing, satisfying, etc.:
to begin the supply of household help.
7.
something that is supplied:
The storm cut off our water supply.
8.
a quantity of something on hand or available, as for use; a stock or store:
Did you see our new supply of shirts?
9.
Usually, supplies. a provision, stock, or store of food or other things necessary for maintenance:
to lay in supplies for the winter.
10.
Economics. the quantity of a commodity that is in the market and available for purchase or that is available for purchase at a particular price.
11.
supplies, Military.
  1. all items necessary for the equipment, maintenance, and operation of a military command, including food, clothing, arms, ammunition, fuel, materials, and machinery.
  2. procurement, distribution, maintenance, and salvage of supplies.
12.
a person who fills a vacancy or takes the place of another, especially temporarily.
13.
supplies, Obsolete, reinforcements.
14.
Obsolete, aid.
Origin
1325-75; (v.) Middle English sup(p)lien < Middle French souplier, variant of soupleer ≪ Latin supplēre to fill up, equivalent to sup- sup- + plēre to fill (see full1); (noun) late Middle English: aid, succor, derivative of the v.
Related forms
supplier, noun
unsupplied, adjective
well-supplied, adjective

supply2

[suhp-lee] /ˈsʌp li/
adverb
1.
in a supple manner or way; supplely.
Origin
1525-35; supple + -ly
Examples from the web for supply
  • Policymakers need to figure out how to supply water without degrading the natural ecosystems that provide it.
  • In this way, the world's endless supply of problems becomes a valuable resource.
  • The heart of the system is a cleaning table complete with sink and cold-water supply.
  • Two electrical receptacles, located on the cooking side of the counter, supply power for small appliances or a rotisserie.
  • They're readily available from garden supply stores and mail-order catalogs, and free when you buy seedlings at nurseries.
  • Elevated feeding and watering stations keep birds from fouling the water supply with feathers, feather dander, and droppings.
  • Ensuring a supply of laying chickens for the coming years.
  • There's an abundant supply of salt, which lawmakers often took grains of, and pans that once held flashes.
  • There was a six-month supply of food and water-but not a soul to consume it.
  • First, there was an ample supply of water from the lake and nearby alpine streams to the north.
British Dictionary definitions for supply

supply1

/səˈplaɪ/
verb -plies, -plying, -plied
1.
(transitive) often foll by with. to furnish with something that is required: to supply the community with good government
2.
(transitive; often foll by to or for) to make available or provide (something that is desired or lacking): to supply books to the library
3.
(transitive) to provide for adequately; make good; satisfy: who will supply their needs?
4.
to serve as a substitute, usually temporary, in (another's position, etc): there are no clergymen to supply the pulpit
5.
(transitive) (Brit) to fill (a vacancy, position, etc)
noun (pl) -plies
6.
  1. the act of providing or something that is provided
  2. (as modifier): a supply dump
7.
(often pl) an amount available for use; stock
8.
(pl) food, equipment, etc, needed for a campaign or trip
9.
(economics)
  1. willingness and ability to offer goods and services for sale
  2. the amount of a commodity that producers are willing and able to offer for sale at a specified price Compare demand (sense 9)
10.
(military)
  1. the management and disposal of food and equipment
  2. (as modifier): supply routes
11.
(often pl) a grant of money voted by a legislature for government expenses, esp those not covered by other revenues
12.
(in Parliament and similar legislatures) the money voted annually for the expenses of the civil service and armed forces
13.
  1. a person who acts as a temporary substitute
  2. (as modifier): a supply vicar
14.
a source of electrical energy, gas, etc
15.
(obsolete) aid or assistance
Derived Forms
suppliable, adjective
supplier, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Old French souppleier, from Latin supplēre to complete, from sub- up + plēre to fill

supply2

/ˈsʌplɪ/
adverb
1.
in a supple manner
Word Origin and History for supply
v.

late 14c., "to help, support, maintain," also "fill up, make up for," from Old French supplier "fill up, make full," from Latin supplere "fill up, complete," from sub "up from below" + plere "to fill" (see pleio-). The meaning "furnish, provide" first recorded 1520s. Related: Supplied; supplying.

n.

early 15c., "assistance, relief," from supply (v.). Meaning "quantity or amount of something provided" is attested from c.1600. In the political economy sense (corollary of demand) it dates from 1776. Supply-side in reference to economic policy is attested from 1976. Supplies "provisions" is from c.1650.

supply in Culture

supply definition


The amount of any given commodity available for sale at a given time.

Idioms and Phrases with supply

supply

see: in short supply