I. ˈsəpləmənt noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin supplementum, from supplēre to fill up, complete, supply + -mentum -ment — more at supply
1. : something that supplies a want or makes an addition : something that completes, adds a finishing touch, or brings closer to completion or a desired state
one of the real services of the historical novel is not that it can be a substitute for history, but that it can be … a supplement — T.C.Chubb
the policy of apartheid is only a political supplement to an economic policy that depends on cheap native labor — Emory Ross
prescribe a vitamin supplement
as
a. : a part added to or issued as a continuation of a book or periodical to make good its deficiencies, correct its errors, bring it up to date, or provide special features not ordinarily included
issued … in fourteen volumes and subsequently kept up to date by nine annual supplements — H.W.H.Knott
Sunday supplement
magazine supplement
b. : a material added to a pesticidal spray or dust to improve a physical or chemical property (as adhesiveness or wettability) — compare spreader 1f
c. : a feedstuff rich in protein used to balance a livestock ration
2. : the quantity by which an arc or an angle falls short of 180 degrees
II. -ˌment, -_mənt — see -ment II transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to fill up or supply by additions : add something to : fill the deficiencies of: as
a. : to serve as a supplement for
the frontiersman depended for game to supplement his meager larder — R.A.Billington
b. : to supply a supplement for
he signed mutual defense treaties … and supplemented many with favorable commercial agreements — R.E.Lee