depend

(dĭ-pĕnd')
intr.v., -pend·ed, -pend·ing, -pends.

1. To rely, especially for support or maintenance: Children must depend on their parents.
2. To place trust or confidence: You can depend on his honesty. See synonyms at rely.
3. To be determined, conditioned, or contingent: a grade depending on the results of the final exam.
4. To have a dependence: began to depend more and more on drugs.
5. To be pending or undecided, as in a court or legislature.
6. To hang down: "And ever-living Lamps depend in Rows" (Alexander Pope).

[Middle English dependen, to hang down, from Old French dependre, from Latin dēpendēre : dē-, de- + pendēre, to hang.]

USAGE NOTE   In writing, depend is followed by on or upon when indicating condition or contingency, as in It depends on who is in charge. Omission of the preposition is typical of casual speech.

View more Literature & Language videos

1. Depend in its main meaning is followed by on or upon:

It was quite wrong to come to depend too much upon one's children—Penelope Fitzgerald, 1979

As grandfather grew older...he seemed to depend increasingly on my company—J. Simms, 1982.

It is also commonly used in the informal expression you can depend on it/that etc.:

I'll have a damn good try...You can depend on that—A. Price, 1982.

2. The slightly archaic meaning 'to hang down', which is the word's etymological meaning, is still used in some literary contexts

(From a beam crossing the low ceiling depended a mobile, the property of Parker—Elizabeth Bowen, 1968)

, but it is not a feature of normal usage.

Previous:	depart, dentures, denouement
Next:	dependant, dependent, dependence, dependency, depositary, depository

also depend on

verb

To fasten or be fastened at one point with no support from below: dangle, hang, sling, suspend, swing. See hang.

phrasal verb - depend on (or upon)

1. To place trust or confidence in: bank on (or upon), believe in, count on (or upon), reckon on (or upon), rely on (or upon), trust (in). See trust/distrust.
2. To look forward to confidently: anticipate, await, bargain for (or on), count on, expect, look for, wait (for). Informal figure on. See surprise/expect.
3. To be determined by or contingent on something unknown, uncertain, or changeable: hang on, hang upon, hinge on (or upon), rest on (or upon), turn on, turn upon. See start/end.

IN BRIEF: To be controlled or decided by. Also: To put one's trust in someone or something.

Your capacity to keep your vow will depend on the purity of your life. — Mahatma Gandhi.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

as in: to rely on
sign description: Both hands with index fingers extended, one finger rests on the other as both hands move up and down.

---

For a list of words related to depending, see:

• Limitations and Conditions

---

See words rhyming with "depend."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Depend.

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - afhænge, være afhængig af, stole på, være styret af

idioms:

• depend on    afhænge af

Nederlands (Dutch)
afhangen, afhankelijk zijn

Français (French)
v. intr. - dépendre

idioms:

• depend on    dépendre de, compter sur, se fier à, se reposer sur

Deutsch (German)
v. - sich verlassen, abhängen, herabhängen

idioms:

• depend on    sich verlassen auf, abhängen von

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - εξαρτώ/-ώμαι, βασίζομαι, εμπιστεύομαι

idioms:

• depend on    εξαρτώμαι από, βασίζομαι σε, εμπιστεύομαι

Italiano (Italian)
idioms:

• depend on    contare su, dipendere da

Português (Portuguese)
v. - depender

idioms:

• depend on    confiar em

Русский (Russian)
зависеть

idioms:

• depend on    зависеть от

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - depender, estar condicionado a, estar pendiente, estar suspendido

idioms:

• depend on    depende de

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - bero, lita till

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
相信, 依靠, 依赖, 信赖, 依...而定

idioms:

• depend on    依靠, 依赖

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 相信, 依靠, 依賴, 信賴, 依...而定

idioms:

• depend on    依靠, 依賴

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 믿다, 의존하다, ~에 좌우되다

idioms:

• depend on    믿다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - あてにする, 頼る, 従属する, 未定である, …による, 次第である, 信用する

idioms:

• depend on    あてにする信頼する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يعتمد, يتوقف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮היה תלוי ב-‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.