supply

/səˈplaɪ/

//səˈplaɪ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"supply" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“supply” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,651. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,651
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To provide (something), to make (something) available for use.

Corpus desk

Index EN-supply · supply · English

supply · rank #1,651 · 8 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,651
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spread

Nearest frequency peer: spread (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “supply”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “supply” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

supply vs surly
67% similar
supply vs surely
67% similar
supply vs supp
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for supply
PropertyValue
Headwordsupply
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/səˈplaɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,651
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “supply” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).supplylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “spread” (#1,650), “waste” (#1,652), “soul” (#1,649). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around supply (IPA /səˈplaɪ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,651 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for supply, with forms such as "spuply", "ssupply", and "suplpy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "surly", "surely", "supp", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English supplien, borrowed from Old French soupleer, souploier, from Latin suppleo (“to fill up, make full, complete, supply”). The Middle English spelling was modified to conform to Latin etymology. The correct English form is supply, spelled S-U-P-P-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To provide (something), to make (something) available for use.
  2. 2
    To furnish or equip with.
  3. 3
    To fill up, or keep full.
  4. 4
    To compensate for, or make up a deficiency of.
  5. 5
    To serve instead of; to take the place of.
  6. 6
    To act as a substitute.
  7. 7
    To fill temporarily; to serve as substitute for another in, as a vacant place or office; to occupy; to have possession of.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how supply appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. to supply money for the war
  2. to supply a furnace with fuel; to supply soldiers with ammunition

Etymology

From Middle English supplien, borrowed from Old French soupleer, souploier, from Latin suppleo (“to fill up, make full, complete, supply”). The Middle English spelling was modified to conform to Latin etymology.

Synonyms

provision

This word in other languages

proveer(Español)fournir(Français)bereitstellen(Deutsch)suprir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • spuply
  • ssupply
  • suplpy
  • suply
  • supplly
  • supplyy
  • suppyl
  • uspply

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of supply - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

spuply2ssupply1suplpy2suply1supplly1supplyy1suppyl2uspply2
Edit distance from "supply"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "supply"?
"supply" is spelled S-U-P-P-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /səˈplaɪ/.
What does "supply" mean?
As a verb, "supply" means: To provide (something), to make (something) available for use.
What words are commonly confused with "supply"?
"supply" is commonly confused with "surly", "surely", "supp". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "supply"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "supply" is /səˈplaɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "supply"?
From Middle English supplien, borrowed from Old French soupleer, souploier, from Latin suppleo (“to fill up, make full, complete, supply”). The Middle English spelling was modified to conform to Latin etymology. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "supply", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

spread#1,650silver#1,648served#1,647artist#1,656

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

option8 variantssenate8 variantsChris8 variantsanimal8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "supply". Here's where to go from here.

  • "supply" maps to 9 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "surly". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,651 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list