rely on/upon

phrasal verb

relied on/upon; relying on/upon; relies on/upon

1

: to need (someone or something) for support, help, etc. : to depend on (someone or something)

My mother relied on me for financial support.

They rely on a well for all their water.

2

: to trust or believe (someone or something)

She's someone you can rely on.

I relied heavily upon your advice.

You could always rely on him to disagree.

3

: to expect (something) with confidence : to be certain that (something) will happen or exist

The economy may improve next year, but it's not something you can rely on.

Examples of rely on/upon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Many of the folks that rely on Medicaid work for minimum wage, making too little to qualify for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Seniors and the disabled that rely on Medicaid for long-term care stand to lose even more. —Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 June 2025

That includes modern breadbaskets that now enjoy some of the world’s best growing conditions such as the US, and subsistence farming communities that rely on small harvests of cassava. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 21 June 2025

In Illinois, over 3 million residents rely on Medicaid for health care coverage, and doctors rely on it to be paid for their services. —Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2025

While some streaming services like Max generally release new films on its platform on Fridays, Netflix doesn’t tend to rely on a specific day of the week to begin streaming new films. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025