deposit
Americanverb (used with object)
-
deposits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deposited,
past participle, past
-
depositing
present participle
-
to place for safekeeping or in trust, especially in a bank account.
He deposited his paycheck every Friday.
-
to give as security or in part payment.
-
to deliver and leave (an item).
Please deposit your returned books with the librarian.
-
to insert (a coin) in a coin-operated device.
Deposit a quarter and push the button.
-
to put, place, or set down, especially carefully or exactly.
She deposited the baby in the crib.
-
to lay or throw down by a natural process; precipitate.
The river deposited soil at its mouth.
verb (used without object)
-
deposits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deposited,
past participle, past
-
depositing
present participle
noun
-
deposits
plural
-
money placed in a bank account or an instance of placing money in a bank account.
-
anything given as security or in part payment.
The boy returned the bottle and got his five-cent deposit back.
They made a deposit on the house and signed a ten-year mortgage.
-
anything laid away or entrusted to another for safekeeping.
A large deposit of jewels was stolen from the hotel safe.
-
a place for safekeeping; depository.
-
something precipitated, delivered and left, or thrown down, as by a natural process.
a deposit of soil.
-
the natural sediment of wine in a bottle.
-
a coating of metal deposited on something, usually by an electric current.
-
a natural accumulation or occurrence, especially of oil or ore.
a mountain range with many rich deposits of gold.
verb
-
to put or set down, esp carefully or in a proper place; place
-
to entrust for safekeeping; consign
-
to place (money) in a bank or similar institution in order to earn interest or for safekeeping
-
to give (money) in part payment or as security
-
to lay down naturally; cause to settle
the river deposits silt
noun
-
-
an instance of entrusting money or valuables to a bank or similar institution
-
the money or valuables so entrusted
-
-
money given in part payment or as security, as when goods are bought on hire-purchase See also down payment
-
a consideration, esp money, given temporarily as security against loss of or damage to something borrowed or hired
-
an accumulation of sediments, mineral ores, coal, etc
-
any deposited material, such as a sediment or a precipitate that has settled out of solution
-
a coating produced on a surface, esp a layer of metal formed by electrolysis
-
a depository or storehouse
-
payable as the first instalment, as when buying on hire-purchase
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
depositsimple
-
depositssimple
-
have depositedperfect
-
has depositedperfect
-
am depositingprogressive
-
are depositingprogressive
-
is depositingprogressive
-
have been depositingperfect progressive
-
has been depositingperfect progressive
Past
-
depositedsimple
-
had depositedperfect
-
was depositingprogressive
-
were depositingprogressive
-
had been depositingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deposit
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin dēpositus “laid down,” past participle of dēpōnere; see depone
Explanation
You are making a deposit when you put money into your bank account. In that sentence, deposit is a noun, but you could express the same action using deposit as a verb. You deposit money into your bank account. The verb deposit can be used to refer to anything that you put down or in place. If you're carrying your keys and groceries from the car, you may deposit those items on the counter. Just be careful you don't end up playing "where are my keys" in the morning, if the counter is not your usual place for depositing them. You can also use deposit when nature does the placing. You find a deposit of gold in the mountain rock or there is sediment deposited at the bottom of a river.
Vocabulary lists containing deposit
Gold Rush: Mining and Metals
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Africa - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Africa - Middle School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As well as offering interest-free deposit loans, Streets2Homes has nine bedrooms across two Victorian cottages in the town.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
The ECB raised the deposit rate to 2.5% during Thursday’s policy decision, as markets expected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The move would take the ECB's key deposit rate to 2.5 percent -- a level last seen in March 2025.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Since the account is so small, can I simply liquidate it, deposit the proceeds into the estate bank account, pay any taxes or penalties next year, and then split the remainder among us?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
The room was small, not like all the times in movies when people went into huge, marble-covered rooms to retrieve their safe deposit boxes.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
As glaciers retreat, they can leave behind expanding lakes held back by unstable deposits of rock and ice.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Copper miners, Cryer adds, mostly know where the big reserves are concentrated, and unearthing lots of surprisingly large deposits is unlikely now.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Higher market rates can also benefit insurance companies and others who keep their funds in term deposits, which often include corporate and government bonds.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Iodized table salt is mined from underground deposits, processed to remove other minerals and fortified with iodine, which is important for thyroid health and proper hormone production.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
A short brunette leans out of the truck and deposits stacks of mail at each stop.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Soot deposited on snow and ice absorbs more sunlight and accelerates melting.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Instead of watching the pile dwindle each month, they could focus on the guaranteed amount deposited into their bank account each month.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
In Coedpoeth, villagers say lorries began dumping a few months ago on former farmland off Talwrn Road, and one person said so much had been deposited it had "levelled off" a hillside.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Its stone fireplace comes to rest on what appear to be colossal boulders deposited by the last vagabond glacier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
I nod, happy to be taken from Rémy's watchful presence and deposited between the Beauty Minister and the Fashion Minister.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
A spokesman for the firm denied it had continued depositing on the site when the temporary stop order was in place, but said it had continued work once the order expired.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
In the video individuals are seen from afar putting their hands into the water while workers undertook cleaning work, but it did not clearly show people damaging the pool or depositing anything into it.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
One woman wrote to me a few years ago to say her husband had opened a new bank account and was depositing his paychecks there.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
That means it’s likely that more buses will be pulling into Villahermosa, depositing deportees still dressed in prison sweats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026
“Parasite of the tent caterpillar,” he says, depositing the slide with reverence on a clean piece of paper at my table.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
