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

Example Sentences

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

Garland said that allowing the merger would significantly harm consumers, particularly those who depend on the low fares available on Spirit. —Chris Isidore, CNN, 7 Mar. 2023

For example, startups that depend on consumer sentiment and discretionary spending are likely to be harder hit in market downturns than those offering essential goods and services. —Jenny Rooke, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2023

That is, three quarters of the arms market is supplied by the U.S. or countries that depend on it for their security. —Jonathan D. Caverley, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023

On an analyst call, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei addressed the impact of struggles for regional sport networks and the impact on Major League Baseball teams, which depend on local TV rights for a large share of revenues. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2023

But the uninsured and those with skimpy health insurance coverage who depend on insulin might be the biggest beneficiaries, said Antonio Ciaccia, CEO of 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit that researches drug pricing. —Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2023

Markey said that Musk's decision last year to dismiss Twitter’s accessibility team and the recent decision to charge for access to Twitter’s application programming interface eliminated features that many users depend on. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 27 Feb. 2023

Members of the genus are mycoheterotrophic monocot plants that depend on fungi for nutrition and the trees that sustain those fungi. —Melissa Breyer, Treehugger, 27 Feb. 2023

Prelogar also noted that a large part of the federal budget consists of mandatory spending for authorized programs like Social Security and Medicare which do not depend an annual appropriation. —Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 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