v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Supplied p. pr. & vb. n. Supplying ] [ For older supploy, F. suppléer, OF. also supployer, (assumed) LL. suppletare, from L. supplere, suppletum; sub under + plere to fill, akin to plenus full. See Plenty. ] 1. To fill up, or keep full; to furnish with what is wanted; to afford, or furnish with, a sufficiency; as, rivers are supplied by smaller streams; an aqueduct supplies an artificial lake; -- often followed by with before the thing furnished; as, to supply a furnace with fuel; to supply soldiers with ammunition. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To serve instead of; to take the place of. [ 1913 Webster ]

Burning ships the banished sun supply. Waller. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sun was set, and Vesper, to supply
His absent beams, had lighted up the sky. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To fill temporarily; to serve as substitute for another in, as a vacant place or office; to occupy; to have possession of; as, to supply a pulpit. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To give; to bring or furnish; to provide; as, to supply money for the war. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To furnish; provide; administer; minister; contribute; yield; accommodate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Supplies 1. The act of supplying; supplial. A. Tucker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which supplies a want; sufficiency of things for use or want. Specifically: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) Auxiliary troops or reenforcements. “My promised supply of horsemen.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) An amount of money provided, as by Parliament or Congress, to meet the annual national expenditures; generally in the plural; as, to vote supplies. [ 1913 Webster ]

(d) A person who fills a place for a time; one who supplies the place of another; a substitute; esp., a clergyman who supplies a vacant pulpit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stated supply (Eccl.), a clergyman employed to supply a pulpit for a definite time, but not settled as a pastor. [ U.S. ] --
Supply and demand. (Polit. Econ.) “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.” F. A. Walker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Serving to contain, deliver, or regulate a supply of anything; as, a supply tank or valve. [ 1913 Webster ]

Supply system (Zool.), the system of tubes and canals in sponges by means of which food and water are absorbed. See Illust. of Spongiae. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Supplying or aiding; auxiliary; suppletory. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A supplying or furnishing; supply. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]