deposit
Americanverb (used with object)
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deposits,
present (3rd person singular)
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deposited,
past participle, past
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depositing
present participle
-
to place for safekeeping or in trust, especially in a bank account.
He deposited his paycheck every Friday.
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to give as security or in part payment.
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to deliver and leave (an item).
Please deposit your returned books with the librarian.
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to insert (a coin) in a coin-operated device.
Deposit a quarter and push the button.
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to put, place, or set down, especially carefully or exactly.
She deposited the baby in the crib.
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to lay or throw down by a natural process; precipitate.
The river deposited soil at its mouth.
verb (used without object)
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deposits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deposited,
past participle, past
-
depositing
present participle
noun
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deposits
plural
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money placed in a bank account or an instance of placing money in a bank account.
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anything given as security or in part payment.
The boy returned the bottle and got his five-cent deposit back.
They made a deposit on the house and signed a ten-year mortgage.
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anything laid away or entrusted to another for safekeeping.
A large deposit of jewels was stolen from the hotel safe.
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a place for safekeeping; depository.
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something precipitated, delivered and left, or thrown down, as by a natural process.
a deposit of soil.
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the natural sediment of wine in a bottle.
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a coating of metal deposited on something, usually by an electric current.
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a natural accumulation or occurrence, especially of oil or ore.
a mountain range with many rich deposits of gold.
verb
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to put or set down, esp carefully or in a proper place; place
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to entrust for safekeeping; consign
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to place (money) in a bank or similar institution in order to earn interest or for safekeeping
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to give (money) in part payment or as security
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to lay down naturally; cause to settle
the river deposits silt
noun
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-
an instance of entrusting money or valuables to a bank or similar institution
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the money or valuables so entrusted
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money given in part payment or as security, as when goods are bought on hire-purchase See also down payment
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a consideration, esp money, given temporarily as security against loss of or damage to something borrowed or hired
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an accumulation of sediments, mineral ores, coal, etc
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any deposited material, such as a sediment or a precipitate that has settled out of solution
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a coating produced on a surface, esp a layer of metal formed by electrolysis
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a depository or storehouse
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payable as the first instalment, as when buying on hire-purchase
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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depositsimple
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depositssimple
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have depositedperfect
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has depositedperfect
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am depositingprogressive
-
are depositingprogressive
-
is depositingprogressive
-
have been depositingperfect progressive
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has been depositingperfect progressive
Past
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depositedsimple
-
had depositedperfect
-
was depositingprogressive
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were depositingprogressive
-
had been depositingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deposit
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin dēpositus “laid down,” past participle of dēpōnere; see depone
Explanation
You are making a deposit when you put money into your bank account. In that sentence, deposit is a noun, but you could express the same action using deposit as a verb. You deposit money into your bank account. The verb deposit can be used to refer to anything that you put down or in place. If you're carrying your keys and groceries from the car, you may deposit those items on the counter. Just be careful you don't end up playing "where are my keys" in the morning, if the counter is not your usual place for depositing them. You can also use deposit when nature does the placing. You find a deposit of gold in the mountain rock or there is sediment deposited at the bottom of a river.
Vocabulary lists containing deposit
Gold Rush: Mining and Metals
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Africa - Introductory
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Africa - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Another appears much farther away, near the outer edge of the CGM, where the jet appears to deposit much of its energy.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
A surviving spouse who is the beneficiary of an inherited IRA can withdraw the funds and deposit them into his or her own IRA tax-free within a 60-day window.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
And accounts that bear no interest whatsoever account for roughly 20% of a bank’s deposit base.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
That's daunting, but here are four ways that experts say you can at least make a start on saving for a deposit.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
She was at the bank in November, just to deposit checks from clients and withdraw cash for the week.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
Many Wall Street analysts don’t think a draining of deposits would happen overnight, if at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Descendants of Michael P. Hannin, who acquired the quarry in 1931, applied for vested rights in 2018, saying they had long intended to mine and process the lime deposits there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
To investigate, the team examined how the drug affected different fat deposits in an experimental mouse model, since this kind of detailed tissue analysis cannot readily be performed in humans.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
The discovery of vast copper and gold deposits transformed the region during the 20th Century, and the development of extractive industrial projects have reshaped parts of the landscape.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
A short brunette leans out of the truck and deposits stacks of mail at each stop.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
But these sites also come with dangers, as demonstrated by the massive Moss Landing battery fire in January 2025, which prompted the evacuation of about 1,500 residents and deposited heavy metals in a nearby estuary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The researchers suggest the Altar Stone could have been deposited in the Dogger Bank region by ice.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
We would like to have our Social Security benefits deposited directly onto a federal government Direct Express card, but we can only register for one through a Social Security Administration employee.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The council issued the funds and they were sent directly to Zadrozny, who deposited them in the account, before withdrawing them in cash in March.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
He’d wave the toy furiously and then there’d be an awful, blinding, roaring flash that shook the room and deposited a fine ash all over us and the floor.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
A spokesman for the firm denied it had continued depositing on the site when the temporary stop order was in place, but said it had continued work once the order expired.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
In the video individuals are seen from afar putting their hands into the water while workers undertook cleaning work, but it did not clearly show people damaging the pool or depositing anything into it.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
One smart strategy is to count out six months of expenses and sock that away, then line up more to keep depositing into that account as time rolls forward.
From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026
That means it’s likely that more buses will be pulling into Villahermosa, depositing deportees still dressed in prison sweats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026
He trotted down the slope for the pack and brought it uphill, along with the radio, depositing them at the base of the large rock.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
