Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense depends, present participle depending, past tense, past participle depended
1. verb
If you say that one thing dependson another, you mean that the first thing will be affected or determined by the second.
The cooking time needed depends on the size of the potato. [VERB + on/upon]
What happened later would depend on his talk with De Solina. [Von/upon n]
How much it costs depends upon how much you buy. [VERB + on/upon]
2. verb
If you dependon someone or something, you need them in order to be able to survive physically, financially, or emotionally.
They may hate what he does but their survival depends on him. [Von/upon n/-ing]
He depended on his writing for his income. [VERB + on/upon]
They had grown to depend on each other. [Von/upon n/-ing]
Choosing the right account depends on working out your likely average balance. [VERB + on/upon]
3. verb
If you can dependon a person, organization, or law, you know that they will support you or help you when you need them.
'You can depend on me,' Cross assured him. [VERB + on/upon]
4. verb
You use depend in expressions such as it depends to indicate that you cannot give a clear answer to a question because the answer will be affected or determined by other factors.
'But how long can you stay in the house?'—'I don't know. It depends.'. [VERB]
It all depends on your definition of punk, doesn't it? [VERB + on]
5.
See depending on sth
depend in British English
(dɪˈpɛnd)
verb(intransitive)
1. (foll byon or upon)
to put trust (in); rely (on); be sure (of)
2. (usually foll byon or upon; often with it as subject)
to be influenced or determined (by); be resultant (from)
whether they come or not depends on the weather
it all depends on you
3. (foll byon or upon)
to rely (on) for income, support, etc
4. (foll by from) rare
to hang down; be suspended
5.
to be undecided or pending
Word origin
C15: from Old French dependre, from Latin dēpendēre to hang from, from de- + pendēre to hang
depend in American English
(diˈpɛnd; dɪˈpɛnd)
verb intransitive
1.
to be influenced or determined by something else; be contingent (on)
2.
to have trust; rely (on)
3.
to rely (on) for support or aid
4. Rare
to hang down
5. Law
to be undecided or pending
SIMILAR WORDS: reˈly
Word origin
ME dependen < OFr dependre < L dependere, to hang down from < de-, down + pendere, to hang: see pendant
Examples of 'depend' in a sentence
depend
People see things differently depending on who they are.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Much depends on whether the government chooses to prioritise energy efficiency or cutting red tape.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
So the rich get richer and those who depend on incomes struggle.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Much depends on where the pound goes.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Whether you should confide in family and friends first depends on how understanding they are likely to be.
The Sun (2016)
There are always different storylines and stuff going on that expose us to that sort of thing but it depends.
The Sun (2016)
It depends on the support system.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Again, whether you view this as a good or a bad thing depends on whether you are an economist or a human being.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It will depend on the support of trainers and owners to maintain the wave of goodwill shown yesterday, but the future could not look healthier.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
GP income varies greatly depending on the number of patients, their health needs and the services the practice provides.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Yet its popular support does not depend heavily on that ideology.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Our group is strong and many things will depend on the first game.
The Sun (2016)
The cost of the scheme will depend on how much banks boost their lending.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Your ability to repay the loan depends on your income over many years in the future.
Miller, Roger LeRoy & Fishe, Raymond P. H. Microeconomics: Price Theory in Practice (1995)
We will have to adjust our economic and political policies depending on our answer.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Which place we move in first depends on the conditions.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The future of football supporting depends on you.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
My identity hinges on different things depending on the week.
Christianity Today (2000)
When you return you would be reassessed depending on your income at that time.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Vast cosmetic empires depend on the answer.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
To me the answer to the second question depends on the first.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
She says that how he copes will depend on the support he receives and his character.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Much will depend on you as a person.
Westcott, Patsy Alternative Health Care for Women (1991)
Sustainable recovery in output and real incomes depends on growth in productivity.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The answer would depend on the facts of the particular case.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The first question depends on the other two.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
How you cope depends on the support you have at home.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Much will depend on the reason why you are seeking advice.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Its income depends on subscriptions and endowments.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It is nonsense to pretend that such things depend on one or two key factors because they do not.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For managers must understand that business results depend on a balance of efforts and results in a number of areas.
Peter F. Drucker MANAGEMENT: task, responsibilities, practices (1974)
It depends how moist things are.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
depend
British English: depend /dɪˈpɛnd/ VERB
If you say that one thing depends on another, you mean that the first thing will be affected or decided by the second.
The cooking time depends on the size of the potato.
American English: depend
Arabic: يَعْتَمِدُ عَلَى
Brazilian Portuguese: depender
Chinese: 依赖
Croatian: ovisiti
Czech: záviset
Danish: afhænge af
Dutch: afhangen van
European Spanish: depender
Finnish: riippua jostakin
French: dépendre
German: verlassen (sich)
Greek: εξαρτώμαι
Italian: dipendere
Japanese: あてにする
Korean: 의존하다
Norwegian: avhenge
Polish: zależeć
European Portuguese: depender
Romanian: a depinde
Russian: зависеть
Latin American Spanish: depender
Swedish: bero
Thai: ขึ้นอยู่กับ
Turkish: güvenmek
Ukrainian: залежати
Vietnamese: phụ thuộc
Chinese translation of 'depend'
depend
(dɪˈpɛnd)
vi
to depend on sth (= be decided by) 依某物而定 (yī mǒuwù ér dìng)
you can depend on me/him (= rely on, trust) 你可以信赖(賴)我/他 (nǐ kěyǐ xìnlài wǒ/tā)
to depend on sb/sth (for survival) 依靠某人/某物为(為)生 (yīkào mǒurén/mǒuwù wéishēng)
it (all) depends要看情况(況)而定 (yào kàn qíngkuàng ér dìng)
depending on the result ... 根据(據)结(結)果 ... (gēnjù jiéguǒ ... )