provide. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

provide

SYLLABICATION:	pro·vide
PRONUNCIATION:	pr-vd
VERB:	Inflected forms: pro·vid·ed, pro·vid·ing, pro·vides
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To furnish; supply: provide food and shelter for a family. 2. To make available; afford: a room that provides ample sunlight through French windows. 3. To set down as a stipulation: an agreement that provides deadlines for completion of the work. 4. Archaic To make ready ahead of time; prepare.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To take measures in preparation: provided for the common defense of the states in time of war. 2. To supply means of subsistence: She provides for her family by working in a hospital. 3. To make a stipulation or condition: The Constitution provides for a bicameral legislature.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English providen, from Latin prvidre, to provide for : pr-, forward; see pro–¹ + vidre, to see; see weid- in Appendix I.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.