supply1
/
səˈplʌɪ/
v.
(supplies, supplying, supplied)
- make (something needed) available to someone.
▸provide with something needed.
▸be adequate to satisfy (a requirement or demand).
- archaic take over (a vacant place or role).
n.
(pl. supplies)
- a stock or amount of something supplied or available.
▸the action of supplying.
-
[usu. as modifier]
a person, especially a schoolteacher, acting as a temporary substitute for another.
-
(supplies)
Brit. a grant of money by Parliament for the costs of government.
Phrase
- on supply
(of a schoolteacher) acting as a temporary substitute. - supply and demand
the amount of a good or service available and the desire of buyers for it, considered as factors regulating its price.
Derivative
Etymology
ME: from OFr. soupleer, from L. supplere ‘fill up’.