Adjacent Words

Provision definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PROVI'SION, n. s as z. [L. provisio, provideo. See Provide.]
1. The act of providing or making previous preparation.
2. Things provided; preparation; measures taken beforehand, either for security, defense or attack, or for the supply of wants. We make provision to defend ourselves form enemies; we make provision for war; we make provision for a voyage or for erecting a building; we make provision for the support of the poor. Government makes provision for its friends.
3. Stores provided; stock; as provision of victuals; provision of materials.
4. Victuals; food; provender; all manner of eatables for man and beast; as provisions for the table or for the family; provisions for an army.
5. Previous stipulation; terms or agreement made, or measures taken for a future exigency.
In the law, no provision was made to abolish the barbarous customs of the Irish.
Papal provision, a previous nomination by the pope to a benefice before it became vacant, by which practice the rightful patron was deprived of his presentation.
PROVI'SION, v.t. To supply with victuals or food. The ship was provisioned for a voyage of six months. The garrison was well provisioned.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a stipulated condition; "he accepted subject to one provision" [syn: provision, proviso]
2: the activity of supplying or providing something [syn: provision, supply, supplying]
3: the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening; "his planning for retirement was hindered by several uncertainties" [syn: planning, preparation, provision]
4: a store or supply of something (especially of food or clothing or arms) v
1: supply with provisions [syn: provision, purvey]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin provision-, provisio act of providing, from Latin, foresight, from provid?re to see ahead — more at provide Date: 14th century 1. a. the act or process of providing b. the fact or state of being prepared beforehand c. a measure taken beforehand to deal with a need or contingency ; preparation <made provision for replacements> 2. a stock of needed materials or supplies; especially a stock of food — usually used in plural 3. proviso, stipulation II. transitive verb (provisioned; provisioning) Date: 1809 to supply with provisions

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a the act or an instance of providing (made no provision for his future). b something provided (a provision of bread). 2 (in pl.) food, drink, etc., esp. for an expedition. 3 a a legal or formal statement providing for something. b a clause of this. 4 Eccl. hist. an appointment to a benefice not yet vacant (cf. PROVIDE 5). --v.tr. supply (an expedition etc.) with provisions. Derivatives: provisioner n. provisionless adj. provisionment n. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L provisio -onis (as PROVIDE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Provision Pro*vi"sion, n. [L. provisio: cf. F. provision. See Provide.] 1. The act of providing, or making previous preparation. --Shak. 2. That which is provided or prepared; that which is brought together or arranged in advance; measures taken beforehand; preparation. Making provision for the relief of strangers. --Bacon. 3. Especially, a stock of food; any kind of eatables collected or stored; -- often in the plural. And of provisions laid in large, For man and beast. --Milton. 4. That which is stipulated in advance; a condition; a previous agreement; a proviso; as, the provisions of a contract; the statute has many provisions. 5. (R. C. Ch.) A canonical term for regular induction into a benefice, comprehending nomination, collation, and installation. 6. (Eng. Hist.) A nomination by the pope to a benefice before it became vacant, depriving the patron of his right of presentation. --Blackstone.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Provision Pro*vi"sion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Provisioned; p. pr. & vb. n. Provisioning.] To supply with food; to victual; as, to provision a garrison. They were provisioned for a journey. --Palfrey.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(provisions) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. The provision of something is the act of giving it or making it available to people who need or want it. The department is responsible for the provision of residential care services. ...nursery provision for children with special needs. N-UNCOUNT: also a N, with supp, oft N of n 2. If you make provision for something that might happen or that might need to be done, you make arrangements to deal with it. Mr King asked if it had ever occurred to her to make provision for her own pension... N-VAR: usu N for n/-ing 3. If you make provision for someone, you support them financially and make sure that they have the things that they need. Special provision should be made for children... N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl, N for n 4. A provision in a law or an agreement is an arrangement which is included in it. He backed a provision that would allow judges to delay granting a divorce decree in some cases... N-COUNT 5. Provisions are supplies of food. (OLD-FASHIONED) On board were enough provisions for two weeks. N-PLURAL

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Providing, anticipation. 2. Preparation, provident measures or steps, provident care, arrangement. 3. Stock, store, hoard, fund, supply, supplies. 4. Proviso, stipulation, clause, condition, previous agreement.

Moby Thesaurus

TLC, abundance, accommodation, accordance, accumulation, amassment, anticipation, arrangement, award, awarding, backlog, basic training, bestowal, bestowment, board, boundary condition, bread, bread and butter, briefing, budget, bunker, care, catch, cater, catering, cheer, clause, clearing the decks, coal, collection, comestibles, commissariat, commissary, communication, concession, condition, conferment, conferral, contemplation, contribution, cornucopia, creature comfort, cuisine, cumulation, daily bread, deliverance, delivery, demand, dine, discretion, donation, donnee, dump, eatables, economic support, edibles, endowment, envisagement, envisionment, equipment, escalator clause, escape clause, escape hatch, exception, familiarization, fare, farseeingness, farsightedness, fast food, feast, feed, fill up, fine print, fitting out, fixing, fodder, food, food and drink, foodstuff, foodstuffs, forage, forearming, forecast, foreglance, foregleam, foreglimpse, forehandedness, foreseeing, foresight, foresightedness, forethought, forethoughtfulness, foundation, fuel, furnishing, furnishment, gas, gas up, gifting, given, giving, grant, granting, grass, gratify, graze, groceries, grounds, groundwork, health food, heap, hoard, hooker, impartation, impartment, ingesta, insurance, inventory, investiture, joker, junk food, keep, kicker, kitchen stuff, larder, liberality, limiting condition, livelihood, living, longsightedness, looking ahead, maintenance, makeready, making ready, manna, manufacture, mass, material, materials, materiel, measures, meat, mess, mobilization, mothering, munitions, nourishment, nurture, obligation, offer, oil, outfitting, parameter, pasture, pile, planning, plenitude, plenty, prearrangement, precaution, precautions, precautiousness, prediction, preliminaries, preliminary, preliminary act, preliminary step, prep, preparation, preparatory study, preparing, prepping, prepublication, prerequisite, presentation, presentment, pretreatment, preventive measure, preview, prevision, price support, processing, propaedeutic, prospect, prospection, protection, provender, providence, providing, provisioning, provisionment, provisions, proviso, prudence, purvey, purveyance, qualification, quantity, rations, readiness, readying, regale, repertoire, repertory, requirement, requisite, reservation, restriction, rick, safeguard, sagacity, satisfy, saving clause, sell, sine qua non, small print, spadework, specification, spread, stack, staples, steps, steps and measures, stipulation, stock, stock-in-trade, stockpile, stocks, store, stores, string, strings, subscription, subsidization, subsidy, subsistence, subvention, supplies, supply, supply on hand, supplying, support, surrender, sustain, sustainment, sustenance, sustentation, table, tender loving care, term, terms, top off, training, treasure, treasury, treatment, trial, tryout, tucker, ultimatum, upkeep, viands, victual, victuals, vittles, vouchsafement, warm-up, whereas, wine and dine