provision

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of providing or supplying something.
• noun The act of making preparations for a possible or future event or situation.
• noun Something provided.
• noun Necessary supplies, such as food and clothing, as for a journey.
• noun A preparatory action or measure.
• noun A particular requirement in a law, rule, agreement, or document.
• intransitive verb To supply with provisions.
• intransitive verb To take preparatory action or measures.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To provide with things necessary; especially, to supply with a store of food.
• noun Foreseeing; foresight.
• noun The act of providing, or making previous preparation.
• noun A measure taken beforehand; something arranged or prepared in advance; a preparation; provident care.
• noun Accumulation of stores or materials beforehand; a store or stock provided.
• noun Specifically, a stock of food provided; hence, victuals; food; provender: usually in the plural.
• noun In law, a stipulation; a rule provided; a distinct clause in an instrument or statute; a rule or principle to be referred to for guidance: as, the provisions of law; the provisions of the constitution. It is sometimes used of unwritten as well as of written laws and constitutions.
• noun plural Certain early or medieval English statutes. See phrases below.
• noun In eccles, law, promotion to office by an ecclesiastical superior; especially, appointment by the Pope to a see or benefice in advance of the next vacancy, setting aside the regular patron's right of nomination.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To supply with food; to victual.
• noun The act of providing, or making previous preparation.
• noun That which is provided or prepared; that which is brought together or arranged in advance; measures taken beforehand; preparation.
• noun Especially, a stock of food; any kind of eatables collected or stored; -- often in the plural.
• noun That which is stipulated in advance; a condition; a previous agreement; a proviso
• noun (R. C. Ch.) A canonical term for regular induction into a benefice, comprehending nomination, collation, and installation.
• noun (Eng. Hist.) A nomination by the pope to a benefice before it became vacant, depriving the patron of his right of presentation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun An item of goods or supplies obtained for future use.
• noun Money set aside for a future event.
• noun accounting A liability or contra account to recognise likely future adverse events associated with current transactions.
• noun law A clause in a legal instrument, a law, etc., providing for a particular matter; stipulation; proviso.
• verb To supply with provisions.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a stipulated condition
• verb supply with provisions
• noun a store or supply of something (especially of food or clothing or arms)
• noun the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening
• noun the activity of supplying or providing something