dependent

American  

[dih-pen-duhnt] / dɪˈpɛn dənt /

Or dependant

adjective

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

2. conditioned or determined by something else; contingent.

   Our trip is dependent on the weather.

3. subordinate; subject.

   a dependent territory.

4. 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.

5. hanging down; pendent.

6. Mathematics.

   1. (of a variable) having values determined by one or more independent variables.

   2. (of an equation) having solutions that are identical to those of another equation or to those of a set of equations.

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

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noun

• dependents
  plural

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

2. 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.

3. Archaic. a subordinate part.

dependent British  

/ dɪˈpɛndənt /

adjective

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

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

3. subordinate; subject

   a dependent prince

4. obsolete hanging down

5. maths

   1. (of a variable) having a value depending on that assumed by a related independent variable

   2. (of a linear equation) having every solution as a solution of one or more given linear equations

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noun

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

2. a variant spelling (esp US) of dependant

Commonly Confused

See dependant

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overdependent
  adjective
• predependent
  adjective
• quasi-dependent
  adjective
• self-dependent
  adjective
• semidependent
  adjective
• undependent
  adjective
• dependantly
  adverb
• dependently
  adverb
• quasi-dependently
  adverb
• self-dependently
  adverb
• semidependently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dependents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dependent

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

Explanation

Being dependent means relying on something. Many people are dependent on coffee in the morning, while a dependent is someone who relies on you for financial support. In grammar-land, a dependent clause can’t stand alone because it’s a fragment. Dependent comes from pendant, the French word for "hanging.” If you break your leg, you will be dependent, or hanging, on crutches to get around. Kids are dependents of their parents, since they rely on them for food and shelter. A drug addict is dependent on drugs. And if a decision is dependent on your mood, that means it depends on or will be decided by how you feel.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dependent dependents

“This means developing countries could become dependent on technology they do not control.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

River Farmers’ Market is dependent on how the city’s gondola project develops, which would dominate the park and destroy dozens of trees with a gondola to and from Dodger Stadium.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

If the Strait of Hormuz remains impaired and China continues restricting phosphate exports, nitrogen producers with secure, low-cost inputs should remain better positioned than phosphate producers dependent on imported sulfur.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

"This event is free to attend and no booking is required but, as always in the UK, the event is very weather dependent."

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Prisons would have to be closed across America, an event that would likely inspire panic in rural communities that have become dependent on prisons for jobs and economic growth.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Even after leaving dependents behind, the Ten Thousand were chronically short of food, and their efforts to feed themselves becomes one of this book’s driving themes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

The mother, Yadira, applied for asylum and listed Wilber, who was 15 at the time, and his younger sister, as dependents of her case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Do your parents qualify as your dependents for tax purposes?

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

Zalewski said his government was prepared to build infrastructure to house new troops and their dependents so the American units could be permanently stationed in Poland.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

At the end of September, Lemos found the burden of caring for all of these dependents overwhelming, and, reluctantly and tearfully, she placed four of her children in the nearby Half-Orphan Asylum.

From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy

Related Words

• defenseless
• poor
• reliant
• vulnerable