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

Its cornering of an “extraordinary 90 percent of global production” of chemicals and dyes sparked fears of dependency among the Allies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

There is also a 30-minute time limit on the chatbot to prevent dependency, says Jenna Glover, a psychologist and Headspace’s chief clinical officer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 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

Washington had already pushed tech dependency to the top of the agenda last week.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

There were men who were forced to take advantage of this system of substitute-hiring because of serious illness in the home or the dependency of motherless children.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

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

Several have enacted laws regulating AI’s use in therapy, including mental-health chatbots, citing concerns that users can develop dangerous dependencies on the bots and that the technology has advanced quickly without sufficient guardrails.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

"In all of these questions, there's a battle over sovereignty that is being fought and must absolutely be won... technological dependencies will more and more become industrial and strategic dependencies," Macron said.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

When he studied the brochures of eight CCRCs across the country, the infirmities and dependencies of old age seemed buried.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 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