Adjacent Words

Provide definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PROVI'DE, v.t. [L. provideo,literally to see before; pro and video, to see.]
1. To procure beforehand; to get, collect or make ready for future use; to prepare.
Abraham said, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering. Genesis 22.
Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses. Matthew 10.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men. Romans 12.
2. To furnish; to supply; followed by with.
Rome, by the care of the magistrates, was well provided with corn.
Provided of is now obsolete.
3. To stipulate previously. The agreement provides that the party shall incur no loss.
4. To make a previous conditional stipulation. [See Provided.]
5. To foresee; a Latinism. [Not in use.]
6. Provide, in a transitive sense, is followed by against or for. We provide warm clothing against the inclemencies of the weather; we provide necessaries against a time of need; or we provide warm clothing for winter, etc.
PROVI'DE, v.i. To procure supplies or means of defense; or to take measures for counteracting or escaping an evil. The sagacity of brutes in providing against the inclemencies of the weather is wonderful.
Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: give something useful or necessary to; "We provided the room with an electrical heater" [syn: supply, provide, render, furnish]
2: give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance; "The hostess provided lunch for all the guests" [syn: provide, supply, ply, cater]
3: 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"
4: mount or put up; "put up a good fight"; "offer resistance" [syn: put up, provide, offer]
5: make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be attainable or cause to remain; "This leaves no room for improvement"; "The evidence allows only one conclusion"; "allow for mistakes"; "leave lots of time for the trip"; "This procedure provides for lots of leeway" [syn: leave, allow for, allow, provide]
6: supply means of subsistence; earn a living; "He provides for his large family by working three jobs"; "Women nowadays not only take care of the household but also bring home the bacon" [syn: provide, bring home the bacon]
7: take measures in preparation for; "provide for the proper care of the passengers on the cruise ship"

Merriam Webster's

verb (provided; providing) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin provid?re, literally, to see ahead, from pro- forward + vid?re to see — more at pro-, wit Date: 15th century intransitive verb 1. to take precautionary measures <provide for the common defense — U.S. Constitution> 2. to make a proviso or stipulation <the Constitution…provides for an elected two-chamber legislature — Current Biography> 3. to make preparation to meet a need <provide for entertainment>; especially to supply something for sustenance or support <provides for the poor> transitive verb 1. archaic to prepare in advance 2. a. to supply or make available (something wanted or needed) <provided new uniforms for the band>; also afford <curtains provide privacy> b. to make something available to <provide the children with free balloons> 3. to have as a condition ; stipulate <the contract provides that certain deadlines will be met>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. supply; furnish (provided them with food; provided food for them; provided a chance for escape). 2 intr. a (usu. foll. by for, against) make due preparation (provided for any eventuality; provided against invasion). b (usu. foll. by for) prepare for the maintenance of a person etc. 3 tr. (also refl.) equip with necessities (they had to provide themselves). 4 tr. (usu. foll. by that) stipulate in a will, statute, etc. 5 tr. (usu. foll. by to) Eccl. hist. a appoint (an incumbent) to a benefice. b (of the Pope) appoint (a successor) to a benefice not yet vacant. Etymology: ME f. L providere (as PRO-(1), videre vis- see)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Provide Pro*vide", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Provided; p. pr. & vb. n. Providing.] [L. providere, provisum; pro before + videre to see. See Vision, and cf. Prudent, Purvey.] 1. To look out for in advance; to procure beforehand; to get, collect, or make ready for future use; to prepare. ``Provide us all things necessary.'' --Shak. 2. To supply; to afford; to contribute. Bring me berries, or such cooling fruit As the kind, hospitable woods provide. --Milton. 3. To furnish; to supply; -- formerly followed by of, now by with. ``And yet provided him of but one.'' --Jer. Taylor. ``Rome . . . was well provided with corn.'' --Arbuthnot. 4. To establish as a previous condition; to stipulate; as, the contract provides that the work be well done. 5. To foresee. Note: [A Latinism] [Obs.] --B. Jonson. 6. To appoint to an ecclesiastical benefice before it is vacant. See Provisor. --Prescott.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Provide Pro*vide", v. i. 1. To procure supplies or means in advance; to take measures beforehand in view of an expected or a possible future need, especially a danger or an evil; -- followed by against or for; as, to provide against the inclemency of the weather; to provide for the education of a child. Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. --Burke. 2. To stipulate previously; to condition; as, the agreement provides for an early completion of the work.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(provides, providing, provided) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. If you provide something that someone needs or wants, or if you provide them with it, you give it to them or make it available to them. I'll be glad to provide a copy of this... They would not provide any details... The government was not in a position to provide them with food. = supply VERB: V n, V n, V n with n • provider (providers) They remain the main providers of sports facilities. N-COUNT 2. If a law or agreement provides that something will happen, it states that it will happen. (FORMAL) The treaty provides that, by the end of the century, the United States must have removed its bases... VERB: V that 3. see also provided, providing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Prepare, procure, get ready, make ready, arrange, collect for use. 2. Supply, furnish, contribute, yield, produce, afford. 3. [Followed by with.] Furnish, supply. II. v. n. 1. Cater, furnish supplies. 2. Take measures, make provision, prepare, arrange. 3. Stipulate, bargain, contract, engage, agree, covenant.

Moby Thesaurus

accommodate, accommodate with, accord, afford, anticipate, arrange, arrange for, attend to, care for, cater, clear for action, clear the decks, clothe, contribute, cure, deliver, demand, deploy, dispense, donate, dress, endow, equip, favor with, feed, fill, fill up, find, fix, fix up, forearm, fund, furnish, get ready, give, hand, hand over, heap upon, indulge with, invest, keep, lavish upon, lay down, lend, look after, maintain, make arrangements, make available, make preparations, make provision for, make ready, marshal, minister to, mobilize, offer, outfit, plan, pour on, prearrange, prep, prepare, prepare for, present, pretreat, process, produce, provender, provide for, purvey, put in shape, ready, ready up, recruit, replenish, require, settle preliminaries, shower down upon, specify, state, stipulate, stock, stock up, store, subsidize, supply, support, take care of, take measures, take precautions, tan, transfer, treat, trim, try out, turn over, victual, yield