depose

verb de·pose \ di-ˈpōz , dē- \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of depose

deposed; deposing

transitive verb

1 : to remove from a throne or other high position

plotting to depose the king

a deposed military leader

2 : to put down : deposit

deposing the sacrament in a carved recess
—Francis Berry

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin deponere, from Late Latin]

a law : to testify to under oath or by affidavit

deposed before the court that he had seen the defendant enter the building

b : affirm, assert

c law : to take testimony (see testimony 1a) from especially by deposition

depose a witness

plaintiffs … were entitled to depose experts retained by the defendants
—National Law Journal

intransitive verb

: to bear witness

See depose defined for English-language learners

See depose defined for kids

Examples of depose in a Sentence

a military junta deposed the dictator after he had bankrupted the country
she was nervous when the time to depose before the jury finally arrived

Recent Examples of depose from the Web

The scattershot efforts were consolidated by a judicial panel in December, easing case management and streamlining the effort, allowing, for example, lawyers to depose an executive once for use in all the lawsuits.

— katie zezima, Anchorage Daily News, "An epic battle over the opioid crisis moves to an Ohio courtroom," 8 Apr. 2018
The scattershot efforts were consolidated by a judicial panel in December, easing case management and streamlining the effort, allowing, for example, lawyers to depose an executive once for use in all the lawsuits.

— katie zezima, Washington Post, "As the opioid epidemic rages, the fight against addiction moves to an Ohio courtroom," 7 Apr. 2018
Mendelsohn said lawyers for Bentley and Stabler have deposed Collier for four days and plan to do so for one more day.

— mike cason, AL.com, "Spencer Collier's lawsuit against Robert Bentley proceeding," 7 Apr. 2018
The scattershot efforts were consolidated by a judicial panel in December, easing case management and streamlining the effort, allowing, for example, lawyers to depose an executive once for use in all the lawsuits.

— katie zezima, chicagotribune.com, "Epic opioid battle heads to Ohio courtroom," 7 Apr. 2018
Perhaps Trump is concerned that engaging publicly would open new avenues of inquiry, like bringing Avenatti's desire to depose him closer to reality?

— gregory krieg, CNN, "Trump's silence on Stormy says a lot. But not about him.," 29 Mar. 2018
Letters like this often come before subpoenas, suggesting that BuzzFeed could depose Daniels and offer her a way to document the affair under oath without fear of reprisal.

— dylan matthews, Vox, "The definitive guide to the Stormy Daniels scandal," 24 Mar. 2018
Plus, should the college basketball corruption cases go to trial, Adidas North America CEO Mark King and McGuire, the executives who signed the Adidas Louisville $160 million extension, will likely be deposed and called as witnesses.

— michael mccann and jon wertheim, SI.com, "Adidas's Loyalty to Louisville Goes Beyond the Terms of Its Contract," 21 Mar. 2018
Now Pelosi’s critics have renewed their threat to depose her even if Democrats do win the midterms.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Nancy Pelosi Is Good at Her Job and She Should Keep It.," 16 Mar. 2018

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