1Make (something needed or wanted) available to someone; provide.

该农场向苹果酒制造商供应苹果。

1. 1.1 Provide (someone) with something needed or wanted.
   提供援助
   they struggled to supply the besieged island with aircraft

   他们竭力向被围困的岛屿提供飞机。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The Turkish prime minister supplies us with an answer when he pops up with a foreword to the catalogue, in which he turns briskly to Turkey's hopes for entry into the European Union.
   • The inactive passers-by will hopefully have made a contribution by supplying the police with good descriptions of the raiders.
   • They were not advised that they risked losing their grants nor were they supplied with information or reasons for cancellations.
   • You could also help us by monetary contributions, or by supplying us postal stamps which we can use to send the book to more and more people.
   • Currently it supplies the Ministry of Defence in Britain and the US Central Intelligence Agency.
   • It is as if by divine providence that I am supplied educational material just when I need it the most.
   • I have read his press statement, which he kindly supplied me with.

   Synonyms

   give, contribute, provide, furnish, donate, bestow, grant, endow, afford, impart, lay on, come up with, make available, proffer

   provide, furnish, endow, serve, confer
2. 1.2 Be adequate to satisfy (a requirement or demand)
   满足要求（或需要）
   the two reservoirs supply about 1% of the city's needs

   这两个水库能满足这座城市约1%的用水量。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The company's portfolio is now the biggest in the UK and is capable of supplying the needs of more than 100,000 homes.
   • The current pipe work cannot supply the calculated demand with the minimum working pressure at each house for most of the members.
   • A proposed wind farm consisting of ten wind turbines will supply the electricity needs of more than 20,000 homes.
   • It is supplying the milk requirements of more than 90 processors and manufacturers in the region.
   • One wind turbine can supply the electricity needs of more than 650 homes and cuts the amount of harmful greenhouse gases in the environment.
   • The government has enough to supply the needs of the American public.
   • What's going on here is a seemingly great solution for supplying a demand.
   • My only question is, are there enough coffee farmers using sustainable practices to supply this new demand?
   • The nation's current work force of scientific and technological specialists is unable to supply the pressing demand.
   • It works against the local producers trying to supply local needs.
   • I'm cynical of the claims that the Westmill wind farm could supply the power needs of Faringdon.
   • By 1943, the crisis in depleted fuel reserves was such that only three weeks' worth of coal was left to supply the nation's needs.
   • They produce a top-quality product for which there is a niche market and it is great the local people can supply this special demand.
   • The refinery supplies about 15 percent of South Africa's fuel requirements.
   • Both the gas tungsten arc and the gas metal arc processes supply this requirement.
   • In the last three years there has been a 30 per cent increase in potting efforts, with virtually the entire local fleet now supplying the demand of processors in France, Spain and Ireland.
   • Three thousand donations are required weekly to supply the demand.
   • There is no slow-down in Tubbercurry for new houses and builders can't build them quick enough to supply the demand.
   • Large gardens can accommodate several lemon trees, but a single tree will probably supply the needs of an average family.
   • After that time, civil unrest outstripped the ability of smiths to supply the demand.

   Synonyms

   satisfy, meet, fulfil, fill, be adequate for, cater for
3. 1.3archaic Take over (a place or role left by someone else)
   〈古〉取代；填补
   when she died, no one could supply her place

   她死后，没人能填补她的位置。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • What is there in heaven that supplies its place?

1A stock of a resource from which a person or place can be provided with the necessary amount of that resource.

有人担心干旱会使展览会的水源供应受到限制。

1. 1.1 The action of providing what is needed or wanted.
   供应，补给
   the deal involved the supply of forty fighter aircraft

   这笔交易涉及供应40架战斗机。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Stretching increases the blood supply to the muscles and joints, which keeps the muscles supple and healthy.
   • Healthy fetal growth and development depend on a steady supply of nutrients from mother to fetus.
   • Most of the weighting is for qualitative factors such as whether the quality and timeliness of supply could be assured, the effects on other parts of the firm, and so on.
   • ScottishPower is involved in electricity production and supply in both the UK and the US.
   • Risks associated with power supply would be mitigated through technical assistance contracts and commercial insurance coverage.
   • Enron's origins were in companies involved in the production and supply of energy.
   • By 9.30 pm, the crew had arrived, changed the wires and insulation of our main line, and restored electrical supply to our home.
   • Apart from guaranteeing adequate food supply, agriculture would sustain several food processing industries.
   • The Federal Agriculture Minister has revealed Australia will sign a framework next week for the long-term supply of wheat to Egypt.
   • Irrigation was provided from a saucer placed at the bottom of each pot to ensure adequate water supply.
   • How will they deal with the issue of power supply?
   • The limited energy supply to the respiratory muscles probably accounts for the fatigue after exercise.

   Synonyms

   provision, providing, supplying, furnishing, dissemination, distribution, laying on, sending out, serving, accommodation
2. 1.2Economics The amount of a good or service offered for sale.
   〔经济〕供应量
   Example sentencesExamples

   • In the short term, at least, demand for service is far outpacing supply.
   • Sustainable alternatives should offer both security of supply and cost benefits.
   • He believes that fewer apartments will now be built in areas with a surplus of supply.
   • However, demand for assisted housing always outstripped the limited supply.
   • We know that producers will offer more supply at a higher price than a lower price, and we know that more consumers will buy more at a lower price than a higher price.
3. 1.3supplies The provisions and equipment necessary for an army or for people engaged in a particular project or expedition.
   （军队或从事特定项目或远征人的）口粮和装备；补给品
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Following this army north was a huge train of equipment and supplies, which included weaponry, siege engines, food and wine.
   • I have a small gallery area, a space for customers to make their selections and a work room with equipment, supplies and materials.
   • The funds will be used to buy necessary relief/medical supplies, rebuilding materials and other items needed by the families left without homes.
   • There are a half dozen or so documents that authorize unit personnel, equipment, and supplies for Army forces.
   • This means my kit has supplies and equipment to handle local emergencies as well as the extremes found in the mountains and desert.
   • That money is used mainly for plane fares, bags of oatmeal-based food supplements, camping equipment and medical supplies.
   • There are too few phone lines, my medical records are in boxes, and all but the most necessary equipment and supplies are in storage.
   • The runners will have to carry their own food, basic medical supplies and emergency equipment such as a compass in case they get lost.
   • The huge transports bring in troops, supplies, equipment, food, water, ammunition, fuel and medicine.
   • A cargo ship successfully docked with the international space station yesterday, delivering supplies and equipment for its US and Russian crew.
   • We demand fuel, food and the necessary supplies to carry on our journey.
   • The money was used for the provision of medical supplies and equipment.
   • All necessary injection equipment and supplies are provided for each client in an injection room, as well as the means for disposal.
   • Being mostly a merchant colony, Rancha only provided food and supplies to the two armies.
   • Throughout the health center, locked storage space that protects supplies and equipment from the elements and camp critters is well worth the investment.
   • A regional army coordinates and manages the transportation of equipment and supplies within its area of responsibility.
   • It was a long, hard slog to the top, which took us around five hours, mainly because we were all heavily loaded up with the extra survival equipment and food supplies.
   • I myself had a dialogue with the wagon manufacturers and impressed upon them the necessity to expedite supplies.
   • The bulk of USASOC's planning is making sure the right people with the right equipment and necessary supplies are at the right place at the right time.
   • There were several boxes of equipment, medical supplies, and field rations.

   Synonyms

   provisions, stores, stocks, rations, food, food and drink, foodstuffs, eatables, subsistence, produce, necessities

   equipment, apparatus, paraphernalia, wares, trappings, stuff, tackle, things
4. 1.4suppliesBritish A grant of money by Parliament for the costs of government.
   〈英〉议会拨给政府作开支的款项
5. 1.5usually as modifier A person acting as a temporary substitute for another.
   临时替代者（尤指代课教师）
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The school had tried and failed to find a supply teacher but by the afternoon a colleague from another school had agreed to take the class.
   • Under a innovative scheme launched two years ago, it employs permanent supply teachers to use for cover and has fewer on temporary contracts.
   • A number of people contacted the paper to claim that flu cases were clogging doctors' surgeries and forcing schools to appoint supply teachers in place of ailing staff.
   • He obtained a number of short-term engagements as a supply teacher at secondary schools teaching students aged 11 to 16.
   • Over a period of about six months, she went into 18 schools in London and the north of England as a supply teacher and secretly filmed in six of them.
   • He said pay was such a problem at the college that one lecturer had resigned and become a supply teacher.
   • He said one supply teacher could work at various schools within a term and checks were for their own protection.
   • The town's education chiefs are contacting schools in an attempt to bring in supply teachers to cover the shortfall, but say some classes are likely to be disrupted.
   • In the interim, the Board of Management and its new Chairperson are grateful for the services of a temporary teacher from the local supply teacher panel.
   • Simon's temporary return as a supply teacher was a welcome relief, providing a long-lost focus to the cast's squabbles.
   • The interim teachers will work closely with the existing teachers to cover classes, reducing the number of temporary supply teachers the school needs.
   • We were watching an undercover investigation into school discipline filmed by a supply teacher.
   • There was some concern that pupils were being taught by supply teachers but that has now been resolved.
   • I have been a supply teacher in Bradford schools for nearly three years.
   • There is an article stating that schools in Bedfordshire are struggling to cope with the rising cost of filling classrooms with supply teachers.
   • The council also has 29 long-term supply teachers whose contracts are due for renewal between now and the summer.
   • I hope she does make the school better and not use supply teachers all the time.
   • After university I completed my teacher training - I was able to work as a supply teacher whenever I had a day or two off from acting.
   • A supply teacher was told to leave a school after swearing in front of a class of eight-year-old pupils.
   • Despite being retired, she still works as a supply teacher so she hasn't left school completely.

   Synonyms

   substitute, stand-in, fill-in, locum, temporary, stopgap
6. 1.6as modifier Providing necessary goods and equipment.
   （必需的货物和装备的）供应，补给
   a supply ship

   补给船。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Apart from a small team of other ice-bound colleagues, his only contact with the outside world for two years was a single visit by a supply ship.
   • The supply ship HMAS Tobruk is on its way to East Timor.
   • There should be no question that NASA will build a Lunar supply ship as part of the CEV development process.
   • Was there going to be a pause in the offensive or merely a necessary strengthening of the supply lines before the next stage of action?
   • In July 1971 the family flew from London to Copenhagen, where they joined the annual supply ship to northwest Greenland.
   • The Toa Maru 2 was a 7000-tonne supply ship built in 1938 at Nagasaki.
   • He glanced up at the window in time to see the sun glint off the side of a small supply ship not more than 20 yards in front of him.
   • To send equipment from one important supply depot to the other involved taking an impossibly circuitous route.
   • That so-called red line would be reached right around the time the next supply ship is due to arrive, on Christmas Day.
   • During the 1970s he spent several holidays doing locums on the tiny Orkney island of Papay Westray and serving on a supply ship during the Icelandic cod wars.
   • Desert sand is hard on men and equipment and the supply lines are susceptible to guerrilla attacks.
   • All his life, Rae had watched supply ships visit Stromness as their final port of call before crossing the Atlantic.
   • Sparks received radio communications from the supply ship that they would be at least sixteen hours late due to high seas.
   • Jack pointed to the supply ship in formation between the Constitution and the Adirondack.
   • They all shared glances of astonishment, and sprinted around the back to loop behind the last supply ship.
   • In the autumn of that year, he went on the Bureau of Indian Affairs supply ship North Star to Point Barrow.
   • Military planes have dropped food in some areas and the first Indian Navy supply ship arrived only yesterday.
   • The supply ship is due to sail from Marchwood overnight.
   • A second supply ship only reached Lau on February 18, more than one month after the cyclone hit.
   • A Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship en route to the Middle East has rescued 20 people from a sinking boat in the Mediterranean.