provide
pro·vide/pɹəˈvaɪd/verb
provide is spelled P-R-O-V-I-D-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (pro·vide). It appears 141 times per million words in written English, the 737th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, provide means “To make a living; earn money for necessities” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in provide?
| Letters | 7: P-R-O-V-I-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pro·vide |
| In writing | 141 times per million words; the 737th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is provide?
Provide appears 141 times per million words in written English, the 737th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce provide?
- /pɹəˈvaɪd/
Provide has 2 syllables, split pro·vide in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-provide.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of provide
- provides present, singular, he/she/it
- providing participle, present
- provided participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does provide mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make a living; earn money for necessities.
It is difficult to provide for my family working on minimum wage.
- 2
To act to prepare for something.
provide against disaster.
- 3
To establish as a previous condition; to stipulate.
The contract provides that the work be well done.
- 4
To give what is needed or desired, especially basic needs.
Don't bother bringing equipment, as we will provide it.
- 5
To furnish (with), cause to be present, supply.
- 6
To make possible or attainable.
He provides us with an alternative option.
- 7
obsoleteTo foresee, to consider in advance.
- 8
To appoint to an ecclesiastical benefice before it is vacant. See provisor.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Provide in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fournir, procurer , pourvoir |
| German | sorgen, den Unterhalt sichern, besorgen, beschaffen, heranschaffen, versorgen |
| Portuguese | prover |
| Spanish | proveer, brindar, providenciar, proporcionar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does provide come from?
Inherited from Middle English providen, from Latin prōvidēre (“to foresee, act with foresight”). Doublet of purvey.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).