provide

Provide is a transitive verb meaning to supply or make available something that is needed or requested. It can also mean to cause something to exist or to bring about a result. Common uses include providing goods or services, information, or support.

Grammatical usage: Provide typically takes a direct object and, when specifying the recipient, an indirect object or a prepositional phrase (provide someone with something; provide for someone). In legal or formal writing, it is often followed by a clause introduced by that to state obligations: The agreement provides that payment is due within 30 days.

Etymology: The word comes from the Latin providere, meaning to foresee or provide, via Old French provides. The early sense was “to foresee” or “to provide for beforehand.” Modern usage emphasizes supplying or making available rather than foreseeing.

Related terms: Provide is closely related to supply, furnish, and equip; provisions refer to the supplied items themselves, and the noun provision also denotes a measure or condition set by an agreement. The adjective provisional has a separate meaning, indicating temporary status.

Notes: In everyday language, provide can describe acts of giving or arranging for needs, such as providing meals, funds, or information. In technology and business, providers deliver services or resources that are provided to users or customers.