dependency

American  

[dih-pen-duhn-see] / dɪˈpɛn dən si /

Or dependancy

noun

dependencies plural

1. the state of being dependent; dependence.

2. something dependent or subordinate; appurtenance.

3. an outbuilding or annex.

4. a subject territory that is not an integral part of the ruling country.

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dependency British  

/ dɪˈpɛndənsɪ /

noun

1. a territory subject to a state on which it does not border

2. a dependent or subordinate person or thing

3. psychol overreliance by a person on another person or on a drug, etc

4. another word for dependence

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondependancy
  noun
• nondependency
  noun
• self-dependency
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dependencies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dependency

First recorded in 1585–95; dependence + -y ³

Explanation

Dependency happens when you can't function without the help of someone or something. If you have a dependency on coffee, you need it to be human in the morning. Not sure? Ask the people you live with. A dependency on the help or support of another person isn't necessarily negative, but other kinds of dependency — on something habit-forming or addictive, like cigarettes — can be harmful. You can also use this noun to mean "a country, province, or territory controlled by a bigger, more powerful country." Guam and Puerto Rico, which don't have complete independence from the US, can be called dependencies.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dependency dependencies

ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, designed to lessen its dependency on declining cable TV revenue, is still in its nascent stage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Back in north London, Marios is hopeful that his course of therapy can help him crack his phone dependency.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

The plan failed and the diversion of resources from other industries increased dependency on Soviet borrowing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

The company has deepened its focus on Composer in recent months, aiming to catch up to and reduce dependency on frontier labs.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026

According to Florida law, dependency cases are supposed to be brought before the court every six months.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

They leave open the possibility of using tariffs to reduce critical dependencies in areas such as minerals, pharmaceutical ingredients or semiconductors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Indian corporate giants like Reliance Industries have big green hydrogen production plans, which could remove Morbi's import dependencies.

From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026

Such deep ties - and dependencies - are now not easily discarded.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

Claude Code can “map dependencies across thousands of lines of code” and identify risks that would take human teams months to surface, according to the AI company’s blog post.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 23, 2026

Ursula Granger ruled the kitchen and other dependencies, supervising the cooking and washing, the smokehouse where meats were cured, and the cider-making operation.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis