depended; depending; depends
1
: to be determined, based, or contingent (see contingent entry 1 sense 1)
life depends on food
the value of Y depends on X
2
: to be pending or undecided
matters of greatest moment were depending—
John Milton
John Milton3
a
: to place reliance or trust
you can depend on me
b
: to be dependent especially for financial support
Her family depends on her paycheck.
still depends on his parents
4
: to hang down
a star was depending from his neck—Arnold Bennett
Arnold BennettExamples of depend in a Sentence
whether or not we play baseball will depend on how much rain we get
I know I can always depend on you for help when I really need it.
Recent Examples on the Web
Much depends on the role of Manuela Giugliano, likely to play as a deep midfielder rather than the No 10 position she is often deployed in at Roma.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 30 June 2025
The tariffs generally range from 7.5% to 25%, depending on the item.
—Ethan Karp, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
The size of the dish rack you purchase depends on the width and height of your sink and faucet.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2025
If a sneaker is linked to a specific athlete, the popularity of their sneaker, like their trading card, depends on the success of that athlete’s career.
—Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 30 June 2025
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Michael Cox, New York Times, 30 June 2025
The tariffs generally range from 7.5% to 25%, depending on the item.
—Ethan Karp, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
The size of the dish rack you purchase depends on the width and height of your sink and faucet.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2025
If a sneaker is linked to a specific athlete, the popularity of their sneaker, like their trading card, depends on the success of that athlete’s career.
—Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for depend
Cite this Entry
“Depend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depend. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
depend
verb
de·pend
di-ˈpend 
1
: to be determined by or based on
success of the picnic will depend on the weather
2
: trust entry 2 sense 1a, rely
a person you can depend on
3
: to rely for support
children depend on their parents
4
: to hang down
a vine depending from a tree
Etymology
Middle English dependen "to exist or result from some other condition," from early French dependre (same meaning), derived from Latin dependēre "to hang down, hang from," from de- "from, down" and pendēre "to hang" — related to pendulum, perpendicular
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