Supply Food Səˈplaɪ Demand Labour Adequate Extra Examples

• advances in agriculture increased the food supply.
• demand for skilled labour outstrips supply.
• we ordered a month's supply of oil.
• we cannot guarantee adequate supplies of raw materials.

supply

1. an amount of something that is provided or available to be used
• SEE ALSO money supply
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/money-supply
• Advances in agriculture increased the food supply.
• Demand for skilled labour outstrips supply.
• We ordered a month's supply of oil.
• We cannot guarantee adequate supplies of raw materials.

Extra Examples

• Supplies of food are almost exhausted.
• By the end of the winter the supply of grain was severely depleted.
• Domestic coal supplies were more plentiful in the 1950s.
• He has an endless supply of corny jokes.
• Hurry, as we only have a limited supply of these TVs in stock!
• I went to the office supply store.
• The injured climbers had only meagre supplies of water and peanuts to live off.
• It is impossible to measure the total supply of money in circulation.
• Make sure you have an adequate supply of brochures.
• The body needs a fresh supply of vitamin C every day.
• The farmers depend on a casual labour supply at harvest time.
• The studio produced a steady supply of good films.
• There will soon be a shortfall in supply of qualified young people.
• We should lay in a good supply of beer for the party.
• a supply of spare batteries
• the provision of a reliable supply of clean water to rural communities
2. the things such as food, medicines, fuel, etc. that are needed by a group of people, for example an army or expedition
• Our supplies were running out.
• food and medical supplies for refugees

Extra Examples

• The Red Cross flew emergency food supplies into the war zone.
• Rebel action threatened relief supplies.
3. the act of supplying something; the fact of receiving something that is being supplied
• SEE ALSO water supply
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/water-supply
• the electricity/energy/gas supply
• The storm disrupted the town's power supply.
• A stroke is caused by disruption to the blood supply to the brain.
• the supply of goods and services
• a contract for the supply of timber

Extra Examples

• The UN has agreed to allow the supply of emergency aid.
• A stroke can disrupt the supply of oxygen to the brain.
• The electricity supply had been cut off.
• The electricity company disconnected our supply for non-payment of a bill.
4. not existing in large enough quantities to satisfy demand
• Basic foodstuffs were in short supply.
• Sunshine will be in short supply for the west coast.
• Safe drinking water is in desperately short supply.

Word Origin

• late Middle English: from Old French soupleer, from Latin supplere ‘fill up’, from sub- ‘from below’ + plere ‘fill’. The early sense of the noun was ‘assistance, relief’ (chiefly a Scots use).