dependent

or de·pend·ant

[ dih-pen-duh nt ]

/ dɪˈpɛn dənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dependent ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

relying on someone or something else for aid, support, etc.

conditioned or determined by something else; contingent: Our trip is dependent on the weather.

subordinate; subject: a dependent territory.

Grammar. not used in isolation; used only in connection with other forms. In I walked out when the bell rang, when the bell rang is a dependent clause.Compare independent(def 14), main¹(def 4).

hanging down; pendent.

Mathematics.

(of a variable) having values determined by one or more independent variables.
(of an equation) having solutions that are identical to those of another equation or to those of a set of equations.

Statistics. (of an event or a value) not statistically independent.

noun

a person who depends on or needs someone or something for aid, support, favor, etc.

a child, spouse, parent, or certain other relative to whom one contributes all or a major amount of necessary financial support: She listed two dependents on her income-tax form.

Archaic. a subordinate part.

Nearby words

dependable, dependant, dependence, dependency, dependency-prone, dependent, dependent clause, dependent drainage, dependent edema, dependent personality, dependent variable

Origin of dependent

First recorded in 1375–1425, dependent is from the late Middle English word dependaunt. See depend, -ent

Related forms

de·pend·ent·ly, adverbo·ver·de·pend·ent, adjectivepre·de·pend·ent, adjectivequa·si-de·pend·ent, adjective

qua·si-de·pend·ent·ly, adverbself-de·pend·ent, adjectiveself-de·pend·ent·ly, adverbsem·i·de·pend·ent, adjectivesem·i·de·pend·ent·ly, adverbun·de·pend·ent, adjective

Can be confused

dependant dependent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dependent

In 2014, any dependent youth who earns more than $6,200 will have to report those earnings to the IRS.
Paying Taxes and Going to Jail Like Adults; Teens Deserve the Right to Vote, Too|Jillian Keenan|October 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Seven of the ten Congressional candidates most dependent on the money of the ultra-rich were Democrats.
Dawn of the Age of Oligarchy: the Alliance between Government and the 1%|Joel Kotkin|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Much of our ability is dependent on two rocket engines, the RD-180 and the NK-33/AJ26.
Why Does the USA Depend on Russian Rockets to Get Us Into Space?|P. J. O’Rourke|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The bacteria are dependent on the nutrients being supplied to them in the lab.
Synthetic DNA: The New Drug Makers?|Elizabeth Lopatto|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

My living is dependent on that reputation and I worked hard to earn it.
Damn Right I Taped Kerry’s ‘Apartheid’ Talk|Josh Rogin|May 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These were not dependent on the vagaries of the wind and steamed wherever their skippers divined that fish might be.
The Harbor of Doubt|Frank Williams
And to think that this is but one of thousands of cases for ever haunted by their own hideousness, for ever dependent on others.
Eighteen Months in the War Zone|Kate John Finzi
But, for the raw material, to supply her manufactories, she was dependent upon other countries.
Cotton is King and The Pro-Slavery Arguments|Various
I never considered myself as transformed into the dependent person.
The Blue Jar Story Book|Maria Edgeworth
Their homeless and illiterate condition rendered them comparatively helpless and dependent.
The Choctaw Freedmen|Robert Elliott Flickinger

British Dictionary definitions for dependent

dependent

sometimes US dependant

/ (dɪˈpɛndənt) /

adjective

depending on a person or thing for aid, support, life, etc

(postpositive; foll by on or upon) influenced or conditioned (by); contingent (on)

subordinate; subjecta dependent prince

obsolete hanging down

maths

(of a variable) having a value depending on that assumed by a related independent variable
(of a linear equation) having every solution as a solution of one or more given linear equations

noun

grammar an element in a phrase or clause that is not the governor

a variant spelling (esp US) of dependant

Derived Forms

dependently, adverb

confusable

Avoid confusion with dependant

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

Medicine definitions for dependent

dependent

[ dĭ-pĕn′dənt ]

adj.

Contingent on or subordinate to another.

Relying on or requiring the aid of another for support.

Hanging down.

n.

One who relies on another especially for financial support.