depend

[ dih-pend ]

/ dɪˈpɛnd /

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See synonyms for: depend / depended / depending on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to rely; place trust (usually followed by on or upon): You may depend on the accuracy of the report.

to rely for support, maintenance, help, etc. (usually followed by on or upon): Children depend on their parents.

to be conditioned or contingent (usually followed by on or upon): His success here depends upon effort and ability.

to be undetermined or pending: I may go to Europe or I may not, it all depends.

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.

to hang down; be suspended (usually followed by from): The chandelier depends from the ceiling of the ballroom.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of depend

1375–1425; late Middle English dependen<Old French dependre<Latin dēpendere to hang down, equivalent to dē-de- + pendere to hang

OTHER WORDS FROM depend

in·ter·de·pend, verb (used without object)re·de·pend, verb (used without object)self-de·pend·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use depend in a sentence

Fees depend on age and gender, but Sanchez said a customer would typically pay around $500 per-year or roughly between $40 and $50 per-month.
Index ventures into Latin America to back Sofia, a Mexico City-based telemedicine and health insurer|Jonathan Shieber|November 20, 2020|TechCrunch
When there are multiple qubits, their possible states can get tangled up, so that each one’s state depends on the states of all the others.
What Is a Particle?|Natalie Wolchover|November 12, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Theoretically, there may be reasons to expect polls will be worse going forward, but that depends on identifying the reasons for the 2020 error first.
The Polls Weren’t Great. But That’s Pretty Normal.|Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com)|November 11, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Some research on the prevention of other respiratory illnesses suggests that a cloth mask’s effectiveness depends on many factors, including wearing the mask properly over both the nose and mouth.
Coronavirus cases are skyrocketing. Here’s what it will take to gain control|Tina Hesman Saey|November 11, 2020|Science News

The two new laptops also get about 50% to 100% longer battery life than Intel models, depending on the applications used.
Apple makes a big change to its new Mac computers. Here’s what you need to know|Aaron Pressman|November 10, 2020|Fortune
Where the U.S. once depended on its own forces to determine who was military material, this time the Iraqis will decide.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The offensive that toppled Mosul also depended on another key factor: the will to fight.
Has ISIS Peaked as a Military Power?|Jacob Siegel|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To never, ever, ever put my livelihood in a position where I depended on white people liking me.
Men Without a Country: Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, My Father and Me|Arthur Chu|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Almost half of suburban housing, notes historian Alan Wolfe, depended on some form of federal financing.
In the Future We'll All Be Renters: America's Disappearing Middle Class|Joel Kotkin|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But they depended on Bell as an expert and a negotiator, fluent in Arabic and used to the schisms and vendettas of the region.
Gertrude of Arabia, the Woman Who Invented Iraq|Clive Irving|June 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All possibility of a general increase of wages depended on the relation of available capital to the numbers of the working men.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
Round her neck depended from a black velvet band, strings of diamonds of great size and magnificence.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Reeds that are leathered cannot be depended upon; atmospheric changes affect them and put them out of tune.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
To what extent he would find it necessary to use the military depended upon the Bostonians.
The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker
The Spaniards were consequently in great straits, for possibly their existence depended on which side the townspeople took.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for depend

depend

/ (dɪˈpɛnd) /

verb (intr)

(foll by on or upon) to put trust (in); rely (on); be sure (of)

(usually foll by on or upon; often with it as subject) to be influenced or determined (by); be resultant (from)whether you come or not depends on what father says; it all depends on you

(foll by on or upon) to rely (on) for income, support, etc

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

to be undecided or pending

Word Origin for depend

C15: from Old French dependre, from Latin dēpendēre to hang from, from de- + pendēre to hang

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

depend

Origin of depend

OTHER WORDS FROM depend

Words related to depend

How to use depend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for depend

Word Origin for depend