51Թ

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View synonyms for

provide

[pruh-vahyd]

verb (used with object)

provided, providing 
  1. to make available; furnish.

    to provide employees with various benefits.

    Synonyms: ,
  2. to supply or equip.

    to provide the army with new fighter planes.

  3. to afford or yield.

    Synonyms:
  4. Law.to arrange for or stipulate beforehand, as by a provision or proviso.

  5. Archaic.to prepare or procure beforehand.



verb (used without object)

provided, providing 
  1. to take measures with due foresight (usually followed by for oragainst ).

  2. to make arrangements for supplying means of support, money, etc. (usually followed byfor ).

    He provided for his children in his will.

  3. to supply means of support (often followed byfor ).

    to provide for oneself.

provide

/ əˈɪ /

verb

  1. to put at the disposal of; furnish or supply

  2. to afford; yield

    this meeting provides an opportunity to talk

  3. (intr; often foll by for or against) to take careful precautions (over)

    he provided against financial ruin by wise investment

  4. to supply means of support (to), esp financially

    he provides for his family

  5. (in statutes, documents, etc) to determine (what is to happen in certain contingencies), esp by including a proviso condition

  6. to confer and induct into ecclesiastical offices

  7. rareto have or get in store

    in summer many animals provide their winter food

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • providable adjective
  • overprovide verb (used with object)
  • preprovide verb (used with object)
  • unprovidable adjective
  • ˈ noun
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of provide1

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English providen, Latin ōŧ “to foresee, look after, provide for,” equivalent to ō- pro- 1 + ŧ “to see”; video ( def. )
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of provide1

C15: from Latin ōŧ to provide for, from ō- beforehand + ŧ to see
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“Later we will provide details,” the Instagram post said.

From

Police Scotland agreed to send officers to Northern Ireland to provide support.

From

The statutory inquiry now backed by the prime minister will be able to compel witnesses to provide evidence.

From

Shanks' remarks come days after the UK government confirmed £200m would be provided to progress the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage scheme in Aberdeenshire.

From

General, whose 600 beds are desperately needed by the county’s most critically ill and injured, but also can’t move on to a facility that provides the care they need.

From

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When To Use

Where doesprovide come from?

For many, the word provide might conjure up tangible objects you can hand over, like food, supplies, goods, or money. Provide may also bring to mind less concrete things that can nevertheless be given or furnished, such as answers or solutions or responses. So, it might surprise you to learn that the root of provide isn’t about the sense of touch—but vision.Provide entered English around 1375–1425. It comes from the Latin ōŧ, meaning “to foresee, look after, provide for.” The underlying idea of this verb is seeing something at a distance or beforehand, and when you can see something coming, you can make arrangements and prepare supplies for it. We call such arrangements and supplies provisions, a word that is also derived from ōŧ.The Latin ōŧ is composed of two parts. The first part is ō-, a widely used prefix based on the preposition ō, meaning “before, in front of.” The second part is ŧ, meaning “to see, look at.”ʰō- appears in many words English borrowed from Latin, such as these verbs:

The verb ŧ is the ultimate source of a lot of English words, many of which entered English through French. Some more familiar derivatives include view, video, vision, visual, visit, and vista. Other derivatives are less obvious and even surprising:

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Proverbsprovided