suffice

verb

suf·​fice sə-ˈfīs 

 also  -ˈfīz

sufficed; sufficing

intransitive verb

1

: to meet or satisfy a need : be sufficient

a brief note will suffice

—often used with an impersonal it

suffice it to say that they are dedicated, serious personalities

—Cheryl Aldridge

2

: to be competent or capable

transitive verb

: to be enough for

a few more should suffice them

sufficer noun

Synonyms

• do
• serve

Examples of suffice in a Sentence

She's also decided that she can't countenance her mother, who gives Jane cash but demands that her daughter save every receipt or package to prove that she didn't spend the money on drugs. Suffice it to say, their short-lived truce is over. —Alec Klein, A Class Apart: Prodigies, Pressure, and Passion Inside One of America's Best High Schools, 2007

Thirteen years later, I still don't know exactly what to make of this letter. It goes without saying that a simple thank-you note, especially nearly a year late, would have sufficed. —Scott Turow, Atlantic, December 2005

But what of the meteoroids that come from other large objects in the solar system? To escape from Venus or the Earth, matter must be ejected at a velocity of at least seven miles a second; on Mars, three miles a second will suffice. —Donald Goldsmith, Natural History, September 2003

No, you don't need to write a letter. A phone call will suffice.

Her example alone should suffice to show that anything is possible.

Recent Examples on the Web

The court concluded that Wright’s contempt was of such gravity that only a custodial sentence would suffice. —Susie Violet Ward, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024

The Syrian people face monumental challenges, and after more than a decade of conflict and devastation, piecemeal solutions will not suffice. —Karam Shaar, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2024

In Zone 7 or 8, pine bark or hardwood mulch will suffice. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 18 Dec. 2024

But that's still not going to suffice to serve Taylor Swift personally. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English suffisen, sufficen "to be adequate, be capable," borrowed from Anglo-French suffis-, stem of suffire "to be sufficient for, be adequate," Latinization of Old French sofire, soufire, going back to Vulgar Latin *suffīcere, alteration (with ī from verbs such as dīcere "to say") of Latin sufficere "to provide, appoint, have enough strength or capacity, be adequate," from suf-, assimilated form of sub- sub- + facere "to make, do" — more at fact

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing suffice

• suffice (it) to say

Kids Definition

suffice

verb

suf·​fice sə-ˈfīs 

sufficed; sufficing

1

: to meet or satisfy a need : be sufficient

a brief note will suffice

2

: to be competent or capable

3

: to be enough for