2 ADJ A supple person can move and bend their body very easily. □ Try these simple exercises to keep your feet supple.
sup|plement /sʌ pl I mənt/ (supplements , supplementing , supplemented )
1 VERB If you supplement something, you add something to it in order to improve it. □ [V n] …people doing extra jobs outside their regular jobs to supplement their incomes. □ [V n + with ] I suggest supplementing your diet with vitamins E and A. ● N‑COUNT Supplement is also a noun. □ [+ to ] Business sponsorship must be a supplement to, not a substitute for, public funding.
2 N‑COUNT A supplement is a pill that you take or a special kind of food that you eat in order to improve your health. □ …a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement.
3 N‑COUNT A supplement is a separate part of a magazine or newspaper, often dealing with a particular topic. □ …a special supplement to a monthly financial magazine.
4 → see also colour supplement
5 N‑COUNT A supplement to a book is an additional section, written some time after the main text and published either at the end of the book or separately. □ [+ to ] …the supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
6 N‑COUNT A supplement is an extra amount of money that you pay in order to obtain special facilities or services, for example when you are travelling or staying at a hotel. □ If you are travelling alone, the single room supplement is £11 a night.
7 N‑COUNT [usu N n] A supplement is an extra amount of money that is paid to someone, in addition to their normal pension or income. □ Some people may be entitled to a housing benefit supplement. □ [+ to ] …people who need a supplement to their basic pension.
sup|plemen|tal /sʌ pl I me nt ə l/ ADJ [ADJ n] Supplemental means the same as supplementary . [mainly AM , FORMAL ] □ You'll probably be able to buy supplemental insurance at an extra cost.
sup|plemen|ta|ry /sʌ pl I me ntri, [AM ] -teri/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Supplementary things are added to something in order to improve it. □ …the question of whether or not we need to take supplementary vitamins. □ Provide them with additional background or with supplementary information.
sup|plemen|ta|tion /sʌ pl I mənte I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT Supplementation is the use of pills or special types of food in order to improve your health. [MEDICAL ] □ The product provided inadequate vitamin and mineral supplementation.
sup|pli|cant /sʌ pl I kənt/ (supplicants ) N‑COUNT A supplicant is a person who prays to God or respectfully asks an important person to help them or to give them something that they want very much. [FORMAL ] □ He flung himself down in the flat submissive posture of a mere supplicant.
sup|pli|ca|tion /sʌ pl I ke I ʃ ə n/ (supplications ) N‑VAR A supplication is a prayer to God or a respectful request to someone in authority for help. [FORMAL ] □ He raised his arms in a gesture of supplication.
sup|plied /səpla I d/
1 ADJ [v-link ADJ with n] If you say that a person or place is well supplied with particular things, you mean that they have a large number of them. □ France is abundantly supplied with excellent family-run hotels.
2 → see also supply
sup|pli|er /səpla I ə r / (suppliers ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] A supplier is a person, company, or organization that sells or supplies something such as goods or equipment to customers. [BUSINESS ] □ …one of the U.K.'s biggest food suppliers. [Also + of ]
sup|ply ◆◆◇ /səpla I / (supplies , supplying , supplied )
1 VERB If you supply someone with something that they want or need, you give them a quantity of it. □ [V n] …an agreement not to produce or supply chemical weapons. □ [V n + with ] Tourist offices will supply you with a free basic street map. □ [V n + to ] …the blood vessels supplying oxygen to the brain.
2 N‑PLURAL [oft n N ] You can use supplies to refer to food, equipment, and other essential things that people need, especially when these are provided in large quantities. □ What happens when food and gasoline supplies run low? □ The country's only supplies are those it can import by lorry from Vietnam.
3 N‑VAR [n N ] A supply of something is an amount of it which someone has or which is available for them to use. □ [+ of ] The brain requires a constant supply of oxygen. □ Most urban water supplies in the country now contain fluoride.
4 N‑UNCOUNT Supply is the quantity of goods and services that can be made available for people to buy. [BUSINESS ] □ Prices change according to supply and demand.
5 PHRASE If something is in short supply , there is very little of it available and it is difficult to find or obtain. □ Food is in short supply all over the country. SYNONYMS supply VERB 1
provide: The government was not in a position to provide them with food.
equip: They did not possess the modern guns to equip the army properly.
furnish: They'll be able to furnish you with the rest of the details.
sup|ply line (supply lines ) N‑COUNT A supply line is a route along which goods and equipment are transported to an army during a war. □ The bombing campaign appears aimed at cutting the supply lines between Germany and its army in occupied France.
sup|ply teach|er (supply teachers ) N‑COUNT A supply teacher is a teacher whose job is to take the place of other teachers at different schools when they are unable to be there. [BRIT ] in AM, use substitute teacher