supply definition

1. The act of supplying; supplial.

2. That which supplies a want; sufficiency of things for use or want. Specifically:

Auxiliary troops or reenforcements. "My promised supply of horsemen."

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.

An amount of money provided, as by Parliament or Congress, to meet the annual national expenditures; generally in the plural; as, to vote supplies.

A person who fills a place for a time; one who supplies the place of another; a substitute; especially, a clergyman who supplies a vacant pulpit. Stated supply "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." .

Serving to contain, deliver, or regulate a supply of anything; as, a supply tank or valve.

<zoology> Supply system, the system of tubes and canals in sponges by means of which food and water are absorbed.

(01 Mar 1998)