Provide
[prə'vaɪd]
Definition
(verb.) take measures in preparation for; 'provide for the proper care of the passengers on the cruise ship'.
(verb.) 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'.
(verb.) give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance; 'The hostess provided lunch for all the guests'.
(verb.) 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'.
Checker: Rhonda--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To look out for in advance; to procure beforehand; to get, collect, or make ready for future use; to prepare.
(v. t.) To supply; to afford; to contribute.
(v. t.) To furnish; to supply; -- formerly followed by of, now by with.
(v. t.) To establish as a previous condition; to stipulate; as, the contract provides that the work be well done.
(v. t.) To foresee.
(v. t.) To appoint to an ecclesiastical benefice before it is vacant. See Provisor.
(v. i.) 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.
(v. i.) To stipulate previously; to condition; as, the agreement provides for an early completion of the work.
Editor: Lucius
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Prepare, procure, get ready, make ready.[2]. Supply, furnish, stock.
v. n. [1]. Cater, furnish supplies.[2]. Take measures, make provision.[3]. Stipulate, bargain, contract, engage, agree, covenant.
Inputed by Ezra
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Prepare, arrange, procure, afford, supply, contribute, yield, cater, furnish,get, agree, produce, collect, stipulate
ANT:Misprovide, neglect, overlook, withhold, retain, appropriate, refuse, den, alienate, divert, misemploy, mismanage
Inputed by Elvira
Definition
v.t. to make ready beforehand: to prepare for future use: to supply: to appoint or give a right to a benefice before it is actually vacant.—v.i. to procure supplies or means of defence: to take measures: to arrange for as a necessary condition or arrangement.—adj. Provī′dable.—conj. Provī′ded (often with that) on condition: upon these terms: with the understanding.—n. Provī′der.
Typed by Julie
Examples
- I am satisfied that Mr. and Mrs. Micawber could not have enjoyed the feast more, if they had sold a bed to provide it. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- To provide a metal which should be at once stronger and safer than any which had been used before. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The only person I know who exactly answers your description, and for whom as a poor deserted orphan it would be a charity to provide, is in Paris. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- The case, however, is different when an animal, during any part of its embryonic career, is active, and has to provide for itself. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The broad problem which he set himself was to provide handsome and practically indestructible detached houses, which could be taken by wage-earners at very moderate monthly rentals. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- In order to provide against vibration I was obliged to make the frame of the machine much heavier than I first intended. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The first office of the social organ we call the school is to provide a simplified environment. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- She had provided a plentiful dinner for them; she wished she could know that they had been allowed to eat it. Jane Austen. Emma.
- With his usual thoughtfulness, he had provided for her independence in this situation. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- This, rising above the water, and provided with reflecting lenses, enabled the steersman to discover the surface conditions and see any near vessel or other object. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Carriages and horses were provided for all; captains and under officers chosen, and the whole assemblage wisely organized. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- In a generation or two, education, emigration, improvements in agriculture and manufactures, may have provided the solution. Plato. The Republic.
- For all who love me in short; for I would make all happy if I could, provided they don't grow too pathetic. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- It provided by a bill for a meeting of Parliament at least once in three years, whether the King summoned it or no. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Society provides a remedy for these three inconveniences. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- Hence it provides a further push to social progress. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Monsieur has seen me reading them a hundred times, and knows I have not so many recreations as to undervalue those he provides. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- He provides the pitch, and I handle it, and it sticks to me. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- A great rascal provides for his wife and family. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- He often provides also for himself. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- And how he provides now for an old woman who nursed his mother, and never tells anyone, but is just as generous and patient and good as he can be. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- The work done by a boy who raises a 5-pound knapsack to his shoulder would be 5x4, or 20, providing his shoulders were 4 feet from the ground. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- But its use had been growing; it was providing a fluid medium for trade and enterprise, and changing economic conditions profoundly. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- If I, as a honest tradesman, succeed in providing a jinte of meat or two, none of your not touching of it, and sticking to bread. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- By connecting them in series this potential is doubled, thus providing a main circuit (P and N) of 220 volts. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- After watching over and providing for their safety, her second care was to hide from me her anguish and tears. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- I'll tell you something, returned the sergeant; I suspect that stuff's of your providing. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- By this statute, the necessity of providing for their own poor was indispensably imposed upon every parish. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Checked by Jerome