[syn: add, append, supply]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Supply \Sup*ply"\, n.; pl. Supplies.
1. The act of supplying; supplial. --A. Tucker.
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2. That which supplies a want; sufficiency of things for use
or want. Specifically:
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(a) Auxiliary troops or reenforcements. "My promised
supply of horsemen." --Shak.
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(b) The food, and the like, which meets the daily
necessities of an army or other large body of men;
store; -- used chiefly in the plural; as, the army was
discontented for lack of supplies.
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(c) An amount of money provided, as by Parliament or
Congress, to meet the annual national expenditures;
generally in the plural; as, to vote supplies.
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(d) A person who fills a place for a time; one who
supplies the place of another; a substitute; esp., a
clergyman who supplies a vacant pulpit.
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Stated supply (Eccl.), a clergyman employed to supply a
pulpit for a definite time, but not settled as a pastor.
[U.S.]
Supply and demand. (Polit. Econ.) "Demand means the
quantity of a given article which would be taken at a
given price. Supply means the quantity of that article
which could be had at that price." --F. A. Walker.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Supply \Sup*ply"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Supplied; p. pr. & vb.
n. Supplying.] [For older supploy, F. suppl['e]er, OF. also
supployer, (assumed) LL. suppletare, from L. supplere,
suppletum; sub under + plere to fill, akin to plenus full.
See Plenty.]
1. To fill up, or keep full; to furnish with what is wanted;
to afford, or furnish with, a sufficiency; as, rivers are
supplied by smaller streams; an aqueduct supplies an
artificial lake; -- often followed by with before the
thing furnished; as, to supply a furnace with fuel; to
supply soldiers with ammunition.
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2. To serve instead of; to take the place of.
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Burning ships the banished sun supply. --Waller.
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The sun was set, and Vesper, to supply
His absent beams, had lighted up the sky. --Dryden.
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3. To fill temporarily; to serve as substitute for another
in, as a vacant place or office; to occupy; to have
possession of; as, to supply a pulpit.
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4. To give; to bring or furnish; to provide; as, to supply
money for the war. --Prior.
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Syn: To furnish; provide; administer; minister; contribute;
yield; accommodate.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Supply \Sup*ply"\, a.
Serving to contain, deliver, or regulate a supply of
anything; as, a supply tank or valve.
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Supply system (Zool.), the system of tubes and canals in
sponges by means of which food and water are absorbed. See
Illust. of Spongiae.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
supply
n 1: an amount of something available for use
2: offering goods and services for sale [ant: demand]
3: the activity of supplying or providing something [syn:
provision, supply, supplying]
v 1: give something useful or necessary to; "We provided the
room with an electrical heater" [syn: supply, provide,
render, furnish]
2: circulate or distribute or equip with; "issue a new uniform
to the children"; "supply blankets for the beds" [syn:
issue, supply] [ant: recall]
3: give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or
sustenance; "The hostess provided lunch for all the guests"
[syn: provide, supply, ply, cater]
4: state or say further; "`It doesn't matter,' he supplied"
[syn: add, append, supply]