depend

verb

de·​pend di-ˈpend 

depended; depending; depends

intransitive verb

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

3

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

Synonyms

• hang
• hinge
• ride
• turn

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

If storage is your only concern, 8 gigabytes holds something like 5,000 ebooks, depending on length. —Medea Giordano, WIRED, 24 Nov. 2023

Get this deal in either an ashy fog or a deep plum hue, depending on your style. —Morgan Ashley Parker, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2023

The vegetable garden that supplies Domaine’s kitchen, depending on the season, boasts a variety of aromatic herbs, edible flowers, root vegetables, leafy greens, stem vegetables, aster vegetables, and fruit vegetables. —Shon Faye, Vogue, 23 Nov. 2023

But depending on the insurer, the standard coverage is typically only $1,500. —Ben Luthi, wsj.com, 22 Nov. 2023

While many insurance plans will cover the cost of preventive STI screening and the healthcare provider’s visit fee, the cost to the patient will depend on their plan. —Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 22 Nov. 2023

On people such as Nasrin Sotoudeh, the fortunes of freedom — and simple human decency — heavily depend. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023

Microsoft announced late Sunday or early Monday, depending on your time zone, that Altman and Brockman would be joining the technology giant to lead a new AI research team. —Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2023

Needing just one or two flips to take control of the Senate (depending on who wins the vice presidency), Republicans have three great pickup opportunities in states that Trump carried by at least 8 points in 2020: West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. —Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French dependre, modification of Latin dependēre, from de- + pendēre to hang — more at pendant

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing depend

• depend on/upon

• depend on/upon

Kids 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