depot

American  

[dee-poh, dep-oh] / ˈdi poʊ, ˈdɛp oʊ /

noun

• depots
  plural

1. a railroad station.

   Synonyms:

   terminal

2. a bus station.

   Synonyms:

   terminal

3. Military.

   1. a place in which supplies and materials are stored for distribution.

   2. (formerly) a place where recruits are assembled for classification, initial training, and assignment to active units.

4. a storehouse or warehouse, as a building where freight is deposited.

5. Physiology. a place where body products not actively involved in metabolic processes are accumulated, deposited, or stored.

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depot British  

/ ˈdiːpəʊ, ˈdɛpəʊ /

noun

1. a storehouse or warehouse

2. military

   1. a store for supplies

   2. a training and holding centre for recruits and replacements

3. a building used for the storage and servicing of buses or railway engines

4. 1. a bus or railway station

   2. ( as modifier )

      a depot manager

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adjective

1. (of a drug or drug dose) designed for gradual release from the site of an injection so as to act over a long period

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subdepot
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• depots
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of depot

1785–95; < French dépot < Latin dēpositum, noun use of neuter of dēpositus; see deposit

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Explanation

A depot is a place where things are stored in large quantities for future use. Your office might have a depot in the back where supplies are stored. Depot came into English from the French word dépôt, meaning "a deposit, place of deposit." A depot can be a place like a warehouse where items are temporarily deposited, but we also use it for a train or bus station. In this case, think of it as a place where a many passengers are being temporarily housed. Your bus trip might require you to get off one bus at a big depot, and transfer to another.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

depot depots

Without a human, the truck drives from depot to another depot or yard where the trailer is either unloaded or a human driver takes over for docking or driving the final mile.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

The welcome screen at the ticket kiosks noted a “fare adjustment,” with no further information, and no signage appeared anywhere near the main entrance or inside the train depot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

Fishermen on Thursday blocked the entrance to two ports and a petrol depot in southern France in protest at rising fuel prices linked to the US-Iran war.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

After a single minimally invasive injection, the material changes from a liquid into a smooth, lubricating semisolid depot at body temperature.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

I put it in a cloth sack and made my way through the darkness to the banks of the Ramleh railway depot.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

Airports remain closed or severely disrupted across much of North America, while railways, freight depots and farms struggle to operate.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Hamas is also expected to hand over maps of its tunnels, weapons factories and depots, according to the draft of the agreement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The roadmap lays out a process to decommission and store Hamas's heavy weapons, military production sites, weapons depots and tunnels, to be implemented by NCAG.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

The U.S. military has since 2019 spent hundreds of millions of dollars on upgrades for Muwaffaq Al-Salti and other facilities, according to U.S. federal contracting documents, laying aircraft aprons, taxiways, munitions depots and other infrastructure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Here, along with a men’s night bomber regiment, Marina’s recruits would fly low over the German troops in the dark, bombing their headquarters and ammunition and supply depots on the southern end of the front.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

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Related Words

• armory
• garage
• store
• storehouse
• terminal
• yard

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