# supply

Pronunciation: say "suh-PLY" /səˈplaɪ/

## Verb

1. To provide something that is needed or wanted, or to provide someone or something with it.
   - Simple: To give someone or something what they need or want, or make it available for use.
   - _Wholesalers supply retailers with goods at reduced prices._
   - _The reservoir supplies drinking water to the entire city._
5. To make up for a shortage, or to compensate for a lack of something.
   - Simple: To make up for something that is missing or lacking.
   - _Imports supply the shortfall when local crops fail._
   - _Her savings supplied the difference between his wages and the rent._
8. To act as a temporary substitute, especially for a member of the clergy or a teacher, filling a vacant place.
   - Simple: To do another person's job for a short time, especially as a priest or teacher.
   - _Retired clergy often supply when a parish has no minister._
   - _He supplied at three different churches that month._
9. To fill something completely, or to keep it filled.
   - Simple: To fill something up or keep it full.
   - _Mountain streams supply the reservoir throughout the year._
   - _The pump supplies the boiler with a constant flow of water._

## Noun

2. The food and goods gathered and kept for use, especially over a period of time.
   - Simple: The food and goods that people gather and keep for use, especially for a trip or hard time.
   - _The soldiers ran low on supplies before reinforcements arrived._
   - _The supply depot held enough food and fuel for a month._
3. An amount of something that has been provided or is available.
   - Simple: The amount of something that is ready to be used or sold.
   - _The world's supply of fresh water is shrinking each year._
   - _When the harvest failed, the grain supply dwindled within months._
4. The act of providing or making something available.
   - Simple: The act of giving or bringing something to those who need it.
   - _The supply of vaccines to rural clinics took months to organize._
   - _Disruptions in oil supply pushed prices higher._
6. A person who temporarily fills the place of another, such as a teacher or member of the clergy; a substitute.
   - Simple: A person who fills in for another for a short time, such as a teacher or priest.
   - _The parish relied on a supply to lead Sunday worship during the vacancy._
   - _Schools keep a list of trained supplies to call on at short notice._
10. Money granted by a legislature, such as Parliament or Congress, to meet the nation's annual expenses.
   - Simple: Money that lawmakers approve to pay for the country's yearly costs.
   - _The House debated supply for several weeks before approving the budget._
   - _Without a vote of supply, the government could not fund its departments._

## Verb

7. To serve in place of something, or to take the place of another. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To take the place of something or someone else.

## Other meanings

- (adverb) In a supple manner; with easy, flexible movement.

## Origin

Latin "suppleo" ("to fill up, make full, complete, supply") passed into Old French as "soupleer," and Middle English borrowed it as "supplien." Later the English spelling was adjusted to look more like the Latin.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/supply (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).