depend

verb

de·pend | \ di-ˈpend

depended; depending; depends

Definition of depend

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

3a : 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

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Examples 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

Teamwork between manufacturers can work, but often depends on where drivers fall in the alliance. — Jenna Fryer, The Seattle Times, "McDowell defends Daytona 500 decision not to push Logano," 19 Feb. 2019 The naivete is what those like R. Kelly depend on to ultimately afflict the young girl and therefore take advantage of the situation. — Morgan Jerkins, Teen Vogue, "R. Kelly and Other Powerful Men Have Always Manipulated Their Teen Fans," 9 Jan. 2019 And that seemed eminently doable, given Epic was offering developers an additional 8 to 18 percent of revenue, depending on sales. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "An Epic defection? The Division 2 won't release on Steam," 9 Jan. 2019 The tour lasts anywhere from six to nine hours, depending on your group’s endurance level, and covers well over a dozen eateries. — Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, "Three Days In Istanbul," 28 Dec. 2018 The waist whittlers are far from inexpensive and range from $2,000 to roughly $5,000 depending on rarity. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "Johnny Valencia Is Instagram’s “King of Corsets”," 20 Feb. 2019 The best upscale auction site for the home: depends on your budget. — Allison Duncan, WSJ, "The Expert’s Guide to Scoring Décor Deals Online," 14 Feb. 2019 Sixteen Candles This one could go either rom-com or pure com, depending on your point of view. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "Quiz: Are These Popular Movies Technically Romantic Comedies?," 11 Feb. 2019 Yes, Verizon is selling a Visible Protect plan for $10-$12 a month depending on your phone. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "Verizon's $40 unlimited Visible service on Android FAQ: What is it and how to switch," 24 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'depend.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for depend

Last Updated

10 Mar 2019

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Time Traveler for depend

The first known use of depend was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for depend

depend

verb

English Language Learners Definition of depend

informal —used in speech in phrases like it depends and that depends to say that the answer to a question will be different in different situations

See the full definition for depend in the English Language Learners Dictionary

depend

verb

de·pend | \ di-ˈpend

depended; depending

Kids Definition of depend

: to be subject to determination by the situation Are you going to the party? I don't know. It depends.

depend on

1 : to rely for support Children depend on their parents.

2 : to be determined by or based on a person, action, or condition The people had been very proud … that victory or defeat depended on them.— Theodore Taylor, The Cay