2. To serve instead of; to take the place of.
Burning ships the banished sun supply. --Waller.
The sun was set, and Vesper, to supply His absent
beams, had lighted up the sky. --Dryden.
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.
4. To give; to bring or furnish; to provide; as, to supply
money for the war. --Prior.
Syn: To furnish; provide; administer; minister; contribute;
yield; accommodate.
{Supply system} (Zo["o]l.), the system of tubes and canals in
sponges by means of which food and water are absorbed. See
Illust. of {Spongi[ae]}.
2. That which supplies a want; sufficiency of things for use
or want. Specifically:
(a) Auxiliary troops or re["e]nforcements. ``My promised
supply of horsemen.'' --Shak.
(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.
(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.
(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.
{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.