provide - Definition | Dictionary definition of provide

Definition of provide

Verbs

give something useful or necessary to

"We provided the room with an electrical heater"

Synonyms:: furnish, render, supply

Types:: show 149 types...; hide 149 types...; hydrate
supply water or liquid to in order to maintain a healthy balance; charge
energize a battery by passing a current through it in the direction opposite to discharge; recharge
charge anew; date
provide with a dateline; mark with a date; date-mark, dateline, datemark
mark with a date and place; date, date stamp
stamp with a date; feed
feed into; supply; calk
provide with calks; fund
provide a fund for the redemption of principal or payment of interest; scant, skimp, stint
supply sparingly and with restricted quantities; terrace, terrasse
provide (a house) with a terrace; dado
provide with a dado; innervate
supply nerves to (some organ or body part); offer
make available or accessible, provide or furnish; accost, hook, solicit
approach with an offer of sexual favors; signalise, signalize
provide with traffic signals; extend, offer
make available; provide; stock
provide or furnish with a stock of something; plant
place into a river; restock
stock again; buy in, stock, stock up
amass so as to keep for future use or sale or for a particular occasion or use; overstock
stock excessively; understock
stock with less than the usual or desirable number or quantity; caption
provide with a caption, as of a photograph or a drawing; tube
provide with a tube or insert a tube into; ticket
provide with a ticket for passage or admission; stock
supply with livestock; stock
supply with fish; rim
furnish with a rim; fret
provide (a musical instrument) with frets; step
furnish with steps; rail
provide with rails; grate
furnish with a grate; capitalise, capitalize
supply with capital, as of a business by using a combination of capital used by investors and debt capital provided by lenders; alphabetize
provide with an alphabet; wharf
provide with a wharf; air-condition, air-cool
equip with an apparatus for controlling the humidity and temperature; uniform
provide with uniforms; railroad
supply with railroad lines; partner
provide with a partner; bewhisker, whisker
furnish with whiskers; subtitle
supply (a movie) with subtitles; headline
provide (a newspaper page or a story) with a headline; match
provide funds complementary to; hobnail
supply with hobnails; wive
provide with a wife; marry (someone) to a wife; victual
supply with food; cloy, surfeit
supply or feed to surfeit; heat
provide with heat; steam-heat
heat by means of steam; seat
provide with seats; reseat
provide with new seats; seat
put a seat on a chair; reseat
provide with a new seat; ramp
furnish with a ramp; arm
supply with arms; munition
supply with weapons; rearm
arm again; interleave
provide (books) with blank leaves; glass, glaze
furnish with glass; double-glaze
provide with two sheets of glass; crenel, crenelate, crenellate
supply with battlements; causeway
provide with a causeway; canal, canalise, canalize
provide (a city) with a canal; bush
provide with a bushing; brattice
supply with a brattice, to ventilate mines; furnish
provide or equip with furniture; refurnish
furnish with new or different furniture; slat
equip or bar with slats; berth
provide with a berth; bed
furnish with a bed; bunk
provide with a bunk; computerise, computerize
provide with computers; costume
furnish with costumes; as for a film or play; bottom
provide with a bottom or a seat; rafter
provide (a ceiling) with rafters; tool
furnish with tools; key
provide with a key; fuel
provide with a combustible substance that provides energy; gas up
fill with gasoline; refuel
provide with additional fuel, as of aircraft, ships, and cars; bunker
fill (a ship's bunker) with coal or oil; provision, purvey
supply with provisions; afford, give, yield
be the cause or source of; open, open up
make available; allow, allow for, leave, provide
make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be attainable or cause to remain; equip, fit, fit out, outfit
provide with (something) usually for a specific purpose; rig, set, set up
equip with sails or masts; mechanise, mechanize, motorise, motorize
equip with armed and armored motor vehicles; fuse
equip with a fuse; provide with a fuse; collar
furnish with a collar; spur
equip with spurs; fin
equip (a car) with fins; motorize
equip with a motor; motorize
equip with a motor vehicle; stock
equip with a stock; horseshoe
equip (a horse) with a horseshoe or horseshoes; turn out
outfit or equip, as with accessories; instrument
equip with instruments for measuring, recording, or controlling; muzzle
fit with a muzzle; kit, kit out, kit up
supply with a set of articles or tools; appoint
furnish; re-equip, rejig
re-equip a factory or plant; refit
fit out again; armor, armour
equip with armor; accouter, accoutre
provide with military equipment; wire
provide with electrical circuits; shaft
equip with a shaft; spar
furnish with spars; stave
furnish with staves; adorn, clothe, invest
furnish with power or authority; of kings or emperors; commission
put into commission; equip for service; of ships; transistorise, transistorize
equip (an electronic circuit or device) with transistors; upholster
provide furniture with padding, springs, webbing, and covers; cleat
provide with cleats; coal
supply with coal; corbel
furnish with a corbel; cornice
furnish with a cornice; constitutionalize
provide with a constitution, as of a country; copper-bottom
provide with a copper bottom; curtain
provide with drapery; gate
supply with a gate; index
provide with an index; articulate, joint
provide with a joint; pour
supply in large amounts or quantities; pump
supply in great quantities; fire, fuel
provide with fuel; flood, glut, oversupply
supply with an excess of; toggle
provide with a toggle or toggles; patch
provide with a patch; also used metaphorically; water
provide with water; leverage
provide with leverage; tap
furnish with a tap or spout, so as to be able to draw liquid from it; top, top out
provide with a top or finish the top (of a structure); reflectorise, reflectorize
provide with reflectors, such as chemicals; retrofit
provide with parts, devices, or equipment not available or in use at the time of the original manufacture; border, edge
provide with a border or edge; machicolate
supply with projecting galleries; sanitate
provide with sanitary facilities or appliances; hat
furnish with a hat; theme
provide with a particular theme or motive; kern
furnish with a kern; headquarter
provide with headquarters; shelter
provide shelter for; domiciliate, house, put up
provide housing for; kennel
put up in a kennel; stable
shelter in a stable; stall
put into, or keep in, a stall; harbor, harbour
secretly shelter (as of fugitives or criminals)

Type of:: give
transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody

give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance

"The hostess provided lunch for all the guests"

Synonyms:: cater, ply, supply

Types:: show 55 types...; hide 55 types...; staff
provide with staff; man
provide with workers; drench
force to drink; regale, treat
provide with choice or abundant food or drink; wine
treat to wine; alcoholize
subject to the influence of alcohol; feast, feed
gratify; board
provide food and lodging (for); live in, sleep in
live in the house where one works; feed, give
give food to; dine
give dinner to; host for dinner; scavenge
feed on carrion or refuse; fodder
give fodder (to domesticated animals); slop, swill
feed pigs; regurgitate
feed through the beak by regurgitating previously swallowed food; corn
feed (cattle) with corn; malnourish, undernourish
provide with insufficient quality or quantity of nourishment; overfeed
feed excessively; spoonfeed
feed with a spoon; force-feed
feed someone who will not or cannot eat; lunch
provide a midday meal for; breakfast
provide breakfast for; breastfeed, give suck, lactate, nurse, suck, suckle, wet-nurse
give suck to; bottlefeed
feed (infants) with a bottle; inject
feed intravenously; aliment, nourish, nutrify
give nourishment to; range
let eat; crop, graze, pasture
let feed in a field or pasture or meadow; feed
serve as food for; be the food for; dish, dish out, dish up, serve, serve up
provide (usually but not necessarily food); plank
cook and serve on a plank; cater
supply food ready to eat; for parties and banquets; pander, pimp, procure
arrange for sexual partners for others; help, serve
help to some food; help with food or drink; power
supply the force or power for the functioning of; drive
cause to function by supplying the force or power for or by controlling; feed
provide as food; gratify, indulge, pander
yield (to); give satisfaction to; humor, humour
put into a good mood; spree
engage without restraint in an activity and indulge, as when shopping; sow one's oats, sow one's wild oats
live promiscuously and self-indulgently; underlay
provide with a base, support, lining, or backing; fill, fulfil, fulfill, meet, satisfy
fill or meet a want or need; answer
be satisfactory for; meet the requirements of or serve the purpose of; appease, quell, stay
overcome or allay; feed on, feed upon
be sustained by; allay, assuage, quench, slake
satisfy (thirst); horse
provide with a horse or horses; remount
provide with fresh horses; shower
provide abundantly with; accommodate
provide with something desired or needed; nourish, nurture, sustain
provide with nourishment; carry
be able to feed; fix up
find (something or someone) for; gutter
provide with gutters

Type of:: give
transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody

determine (what is to happen in certain contingencies), especially by including a proviso condition or stipulation

"The will provides that each child should receive half of the money"

"The Constitution provides for the right to free speech"

Type of:: condition, qualify, specify, stipulate
specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement; make an express demand or provision in an agreement

mount or put up

Synonyms:: offer, put up

Type of:: engage, wage
carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns)

make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be attainable or cause to remain

"This procedure provides for lots of leeway"

Synonyms:: allow, allow for, leave; admit
afford possibility

Type of:: afford, give, yield
be the cause or source of

supply means of subsistence; earn a living

"He provides for his large family by working three jobs"

Synonyms:: bring home the bacon

Type of:: support
support materially or financially

take measures in preparation for

"provide for the proper care of the passengers on the cruise ship"

Type of:: fix, gear up, prepare, ready, set, set up
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc