depend
Americanverb (used without object)
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depends,
present (3rd person singular)
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depended,
past participle, past
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depending
present participle
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to rely; place trust (usually followed by on orupon ).
You may depend on the accuracy of the report.
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to rely for support, maintenance, help, etc. (usually followed by on orupon ).
Children depend on their parents.
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to be conditioned or contingent (usually followed by on orupon ).
His success here depends upon effort and ability.
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to be undetermined or pending.
I may go to Europe or I may not, it all depends.
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Grammar. (of a word or other linguistic form) to be subordinate to another linguistic form in the same construction; to form a part of a construction other than the head.
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to hang down; be suspended (usually followed byfrom ).
The chandelier depends from the ceiling of the ballroom.
verb
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to put trust (in); rely (on); be sure (of)
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to be influenced or determined (by); be resultant (from)
whether you come or not depends on what father says
it all depends on you
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to rely (on) for income, support, etc
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rare (foll by from) to hang down; be suspended
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to be undecided or pending
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dependsimple
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dependssimple
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have dependedperfect
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has dependedperfect
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am dependingprogressive
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are dependingprogressive
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is dependingprogressive
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have been dependingperfect progressive
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has been dependingperfect progressive
Past
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dependedsimple
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had dependedperfect
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was dependingprogressive
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were dependingprogressive
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had been dependingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of depend
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English dependen, from Old French dependre, from Latin dēpendere “to hang down,” from dē- de- + pendere “to hang”
Explanation
To depend is to have confidence in something or someone. You can depend on your most loyal friend to show up for your modern dance performance in the park (although you probably can't depend on her liking it). Depend can also mean "determined by or contingent on something else." For example, if rain is in the forecast, your outdoor dance performance may be cancelled; it depends on the weather. Depend is almost always followed by the word on or upon, with upon being more formal. If you're speaking informally, you may drop the on or upon, as in "It all depends how you feel." Your decision to do that will, of course, depend upon your audience.
Vocabulary lists containing depend
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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Sarah, Plain and Tall
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"How Do We Use Water?"
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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:
The amount may depend on the type of ticket and the length of delay.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
They can operate together, and even microscopic cells may depend on a balance between the two.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
While the annual monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, scientists say climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, unpredictable and deadly across the South Asia region.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
It’s likely that during this transition period, EA will depend more on its reliable releases rather than testing out new smaller games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
“But it’s going to depend on how good our videos are,” Patrice says.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
"I'm hearing mixed reports. Some places are getting a boost and some are not. It depends on the location with those closest to the pedestrian zone in the city centre performing best."
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The effect on consumer prices depends on how long the inspections remain stalled, experts say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Takeda has projected peak sales could top $3 billion, a figure that depends partly on how many of the around 60,000 diagnosed U.S. patients start treatment and whether the market grows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The exact SSI amount depends on factors like where your brother lives, his living arrangements and other income.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Figure 1.83: The performance of an accent depends on the style of music, but in general, sforzando and fortepiano accents involve a loud beginning to a longer note.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
After earthquakes struck Emilia-Romagna in 2012, warehouses collapsed around hundreds of thousands of wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, threatening the livelihoods of the cheesemakers who depended on them.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Atul Chaurasia, managing editor of the Newslaundry digital platform, argued that traditional newsrooms relied on a "flawed financial model" that depended heavily on advertising revenue from the government.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Sean Liddick, professor of chemistry at FRIB, interim chairperson of MSU's Department of Chemistry, and Ronning's graduate advisor, said the study depended on experimental resources available only at FRIB.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
Long before modern professional police forces, public order depended on watches, constables, alarms, and forms of compelled or expected community response.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Both these arguments thus depended on prior acceptance of the mechanistic or corpuscular philosophy, according to which matter is passive and always acted on from outside.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
It is a collection of symptoms that can result from several different disorders, which means the risks may vary depending on the underlying cause.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
Union workers can also apply for state financial assistance for family leave, which can temporarily replace 70% to 90% of a worker’s salary, depending on their income.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Now, those top rates can swing from 4% and lower to above 10%, depending on the place.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
While many dislike loudcasting, do some people find it more acceptable than others to play their phone out loud in public depending on their background?
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The exact number varies from two to twenty, depending on the news source.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
