depended; depending; depends
1
: to be determined, based, or contingent (see contingent entry 1 sense 1)
life depends on food
the value of Y depends on X
2
: to be pending or undecided
matters of greatest moment were depending—
John Milton
John Milton3
a
: to place reliance or trust
you can depend on me
b
: to be dependent especially for financial support
Her family depends on her paycheck.
still depends on his parents
4
: to hang down
a star was depending from his neck—Arnold Bennett
Arnold BennettExamples of depend in a Sentence
whether or not we play baseball will depend on how much rain we get
I know I can always depend on you for help when I really need it.
Recent Examples on the Web
If sold in an auction platform, green jackets could command values into the seven digits depending on the player it was awarded to, given the scarcity of the item.
—Larry Holder, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
That shift may depend on the health of the economy.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025
Their seafood steam pots feature shrimp, clams, crabs, oysters, and even lobster tails, depending on your family's preferences.
—Grace Haynes, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2025
That work could create new headaches for Bass, depending on how wide-ranging the probe turns out to be.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2025
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Larry Holder, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
That shift may depend on the health of the economy.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025
Their seafood steam pots feature shrimp, clams, crabs, oysters, and even lobster tails, depending on your family's preferences.
—Grace Haynes, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2025
That work could create new headaches for Bass, depending on how wide-ranging the probe turns out to be.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for depend
Cite this Entry
“Depend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depend. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
depend
verb
de·pend
di-ˈpend 
1
: to be determined by or based on
success of the picnic will depend on the weather
2
: trust entry 2 sense 1a, rely
a person you can depend on
3
: to rely for support
children depend on their parents
4
: to hang down
a vine depending from a tree
Etymology
Middle English dependen "to exist or result from some other condition," from early French dependre (same meaning), derived from Latin dependēre "to hang down, hang from," from de- "from, down" and pendēre "to hang" — related to pendulum, perpendicular
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