Provision means supplying or providing something: the provision of healthcare. Its second meaning is a condition or clause in a contract or law. Only the plural, provisions, means food supplies, and it sounds bookish, like something from a novel about a long sea voyage. In everyday English, food for a trip is simply food or supplies.
provision: will you get the meaning right?
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the provision of + services/care/housing; make provision for + noun; a provision in + contract/law; provisions (plural, formal) = food supplies
- The new law improves the provision of free childcare for working parents.
- There is a provision in my contract that lets me work from home on Fridays.
- The expedition carried enough provisions for three weeks in the mountains.
What changed
First versionWe bought some provision for the camping trip.
RevisionWe bought some food for the camping trip.
Because provisions can mean food, it's tempting to use provision for groceries. But in the singular the word doesn't mean food: some provision sounds like “some supplying”. Food for a trip is food, and stocks for a hike are supplies.
Make provision for means to plan ahead for a future need: Parents should make provision for their children's education. In conversation people usually say plan for or save for, while make provision belongs to official texts and essays.
Your turn
Before the hike, we stopped at a supermarket to buy ___ for the weekend.
Show the answer
food — You're shopping in a supermarket before a hike, so you need food. Provision in the singular means supplying something or a clause in a contract, and nobody calls groceries that.
Write about a service your town doesn't have enough of. Say exactly what is missing and who finds life harder because of it.
The provision of public transport in my town is poor: there are no buses after 9 pm, so students and night-shift workers struggle to get home.
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