rely

American  

[ri-lahy] / rɪˈlaɪ /

verb (used without object)

• relies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• relied,
  past participle,  past
• relying
  present participle

1. to depend confidently; put trust in (usually followed by on orupon ).

   You can rely on her work.

   Synonyms:

   bank, count, trust

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rely British  

/ rɪˈlaɪ /

verb

1. to be dependent (on)

   he relies on his charm

2. to have trust or confidence (in)

   you can rely on us

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misrely
  verb (used without object)

Inflected Forms

Participles

• relying
  present
• relied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rely
  simple
• relies
  simple
• have relied
  perfect
• has relied
  perfect
• am relying
  progressive
• are relying
  progressive
• is relying
  progressive
• have been relying
  perfect progressive
• has been relying
  perfect progressive

Past

• relied
  simple
• had relied
  perfect
• was relying
  progressive
• were relying
  progressive
• had been relying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rely
  simple
• will have relied
  perfect
• will be relying
  progressive
• will have been relying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of rely

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English relien, from Middle French relier, from Latin religāre “to bind fast, hold firmly”; see re-, ligament

Explanation

To rely is to have confidence in something. You might rely on staying in bed to make you feel better and rely on your friends to tell you everything you missed when you were sick. Rely is a lot like the word depend. If you rely on someone for help, you also depend on her. But rely is even more powerful! When you rely on someone, you have total faith and trust that she will come through. It comes from the Latin word religare which means "to fasten or bind." You're bound to the people you rely on!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rely relies relied relying

“It can be scary to think about how much people rely on the wisdom and common sense of the therapist that is not based in training,” he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

The money will be traded in a public brokerage account so as not to rely on non-publicly traded items that cannot be verified independently.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

The increase in yields weighed on Wall Street, where all three main indexes fell as tech firms -- which rely on debt to fund their huge investments -- dropped.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

“I have brothers that I can go and rely on, and coming back home to my family has been easy. I don’t really focus on the outside noise.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

For reference, there was his talismanic Lipnitsky on which to rely, and the latest edition of Modern Chess Openings, which had thousands of games and variations.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Silent performance can be an actor’s dream and a real challenge, since it relies on physical performances and visual execution to communicate with the audience.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

State Farm relies on various outside firms to litigate policy disputes, including some stemming from alleged mishandling of claims related to the January 2025 wildfires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Matthew Connor is one of the biggest professional sellers on Vinted and relies on it for his livelihood with some ten thousand top reviews.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

If, for instance, auto tariffs aren’t eased significantly, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose economy relies heavily on the industry, is unlikely to budge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Evidently, Giordano has no word for ‘invention’ or ‘discovery’, so he relies on a paraphrase: ‘a new technique that never existed previously’.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Since Tesla unveiled its first ride-hailing operation last year, the company has relied on Model Y electric vehicles to carry out trips.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

And yes, Swain told me, many predictive data sources that relied on physics-based modeling now utilize a “blend” of physics-based and machine learning/artificial intelligence methods.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

To catch up in the era of generative AI, Chinese companies have relied on the familiar mix of ingenuity and imitation that also lies behind the nation’s successes in electronics, cars and green energy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The move will also have rattled the likes of Taiwan and Japan, which have long relied on US security guarantees in the region.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

She relied heavily on Relocation Rule Number 13: When faced with a roadblock, get off the road.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Between 200,000 and 400,000 people are estimated to engage in artisanal mining in Colombia, with many families relying on the income from selling the precious metals and stones they find to make ends meet.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

And that I found very, very inspiring, very encouraging — that television and film should be pushing itself continually for that original material and not relying on remakes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

They are relying more heavily on their networks, learning how to use AI and sharpening their communication skills and personal qualities — such as coachability, curiosity and reliability — to find work and stay employed.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Rather than relying only on the size, anatomy or presumed hunting abilities of extinct animals, researchers can use the marks left on bones to identify signs of actual feeding or attacks.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

They stopped relying on the actual evidence of their senses and fell back on a rigid and unyielding system, a stereotype.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell