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
The rest of my life depended on how these men rated my credibility.
—Joe Garcia, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Instead of depending on ordinary thermal states, the researchers used a non-thermal TL liquid—a special one-dimensional electron system that resists thermalization.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Oct. 2025
Understanding Peak And Off-Peak Hours Figuring out when to run the washing machine is about timing and much of that depends on locale.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 12 Oct. 2025
Your real security depends on how your entire network is set up.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for depend
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Joe Garcia, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Instead of depending on ordinary thermal states, the researchers used a non-thermal TL liquid—a special one-dimensional electron system that resists thermalization.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Oct. 2025
Understanding Peak And Off-Peak Hours Figuring out when to run the washing machine is about timing and much of that depends on locale.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 12 Oct. 2025
Your real security depends on how your entire network is set up.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 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 18 Oct. 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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