depend

American  

[dih-pend] / dɪˈpɛnd /

verb (used without object)

depends, present (3rd person singular) depended, past participle, past depending present participle

1. to rely; place trust (usually followed by on orupon ).

   You may depend on the accuracy of the report.

2. to rely for support, maintenance, help, etc. (usually followed by on orupon ).

   Children depend on their parents.

3. to be conditioned or contingent (usually followed by on orupon ).

   His success here depends upon effort and ability.

4. to be undetermined or pending.

   I may go to Europe or I may not, it all depends.

5. 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.

6. to hang down; be suspended (usually followed byfrom ).

   The chandelier depends from the ceiling of the ballroom.

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depend British  

/ dɪˈpɛnd /

verb

1. to put trust (in); rely (on); be sure (of)

2. to be influenced or determined (by); be resultant (from)

   whether you come or not depends on what father says

   it all depends on you

3. to rely (on) for income, support, etc

4. rare (foll by from) to hang down; be suspended

5. to be undecided or pending

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-depending
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• depending
  present
• depended
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• depend
  simple
• depends
  simple
• have depended
  perfect
• has depended
  perfect
• am depending
  progressive
• are depending
  progressive
• is depending
  progressive
• have been depending
  perfect progressive
• has been depending
  perfect progressive

Past

• depended
  simple
• had depended
  perfect
• was depending
  progressive
• were depending
  progressive
• had been depending
  perfect progressive

Future

• will depend
  simple
• will have depended
  perfect
• will be depending
  progressive
• will have been depending
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

Traditional approaches often depend on comparing a polyploid genome with known diploid ancestors.

From Science Daily • Jun. 19, 2026

Tactically, the timing to introduce a bit more uncertainty and volatility around Fed decisions seems right, as the economy currently does not depend much on interest rates.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 19, 2026

How deep that review goes, experts said, will largely depend on what investigators find on the ground.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026

On the county, city and municipal levels, public employees depend on local policy, which sometimes differs from that of state and federal policies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026

Tie notes, as we have seen, that some signs virtually speak for themselves—bloodstained clothing, a cry—but others depend heavily on interpretation.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• hinge on
• rest on
• revolve around