Meaning & use
supplements
Last updated
“supplements” is a form of “supplement”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
Products, often pills, powders, or drinks, that you take to add vitamins or other nutrients to your diet.
Grammar: Countable, so you can say 'a supplement' or 'supplements'; the plural is used for the category of products.
Patterns
- take supplements
- vitamin supplements
- dietary supplements
- supplements for something
Many people take vitamin supplements in winter when they eat less fresh fruit.
The doctor said she did not need iron supplements because her blood test was normal.
Athletes often use protein supplements after training to help their muscles recover.
nouncountable
Extra amounts of something added to make it complete or to improve it.
Grammar: Countable; often followed by 'to' to show what is being added to.
Patterns
- a supplement to something
- supplements to something
She earns extra money by writing supplements to the main textbook.
The newspaper publishes a weekly supplement about food and travel.
These lessons are a supplement to the online course, not a replacement.
verbtransitive
Adds something extra to improve or complete something else.
Grammar: Takes an object: supplement your income. Often used in the passive: be supplemented by.
Patterns
- supplement something with something
- supplement something by doing something
He supplements his salary with weekend work at a cafe.
The school supplements classroom teaching with online exercises.
Farmers sometimes supplement animal feed with vitamins.
Word forms
| singular | supplement |
|---|---|
| third person singular | supplements |
| past tense | supplemented |
| past participle | supplemented |
| -ing form | supplementing |
Common combinations
- take supplements
- She takes supplements every morning with breakfast.
- vitamin supplements
- Vitamin supplements are popular among older people.
- dietary supplements
- The store sells dietary supplements and herbal teas.
- supplement your income
- Many teachers supplement their income by tutoring.
- a supplement to something
- This guide is a supplement to the main course book.
- supplement something with something
- They supplement their diet with fresh vegetables from the garden.
Synonyms and how they differ
- additive
- An additive is a substance put into food during production, while a supplement is usually taken separately for health reasons.
- extra
- Extra is a general word for anything additional; a supplement is a specific product or addition that completes something.
- complement
- A complement goes well with something and makes it better, while a supplement adds what is missing.
Opposites
Word family
- supplementary adjective
- Added to complete or improve something, as in supplementary materials.
- supplementation noun
- The act of adding something extra, especially nutrients to a diet.
Commonly confused: supplements or compliment?
supplements vs compliment
A compliment is a nice thing you say to someone; a supplement is something added. The spellings are similar but the meanings are completely different.
Practice
The doctor told her to ___ her diet with more iron-rich foods.
Choose one answer.
After 'to' in an infinitive, we use the base form 'supplement'. 'Supplements' would need a third-person subject like 'she supplements', and 'supplementing' cannot follow 'to' here because it would create a continuous infinitive that does not fit the sentence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “supplements”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.