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.
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Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Apr. 2025
This pick is just 12.5 inches in height, but Coach also offers other sizes depending on your needs.
—Isis Briones, Travel + Leisure, 19 Apr. 2025
Blindness may or may not be reversible depending on the cause.
—Heidi Cope, Health, 19 Apr. 2025
Yes, that may sound like a hefty recurring expense, as, depending on the materials and size of the mattress, a good one can cost you thousands of dollars.
—Terry Baddoo, USA Today, 19 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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