depend
verb
de·pend
| \ di-ˈpend
\
\
depended;
depending;
depends
Definition of depend
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
3a
: 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
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Examples 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
Whether anyone is criminally charged will depend on the conclusions of a multi-agency investigation on land and sea into the cause of the fire. — Brian Melley, Anchorage Daily News, "Probe to find cause of boat fire could lead to criminal case," 5 Sep. 2019 What is considered a bargain, of course, depends on many factors and someone’s perception. — Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, "Don't have a down payment for a house? Banks might have a deal for you," 5 Sep. 2019 The amount depends on where a Hopkins employee chooses to buy. — Baltimore Sun Staff, baltimoresun.com, "Johns Hopkins expands borders of Live Near Your Work program to increase Baltimore homeownership," 4 Sep. 2019 Historically, most industrial companies operate between three and four sigma, making them between 93% and 99.3% defect-free (these figures can vary slightly depending on the statistical model). — Oliver Staley, Quartz at Work, "Whatever happened to Six Sigma?," 3 Sep. 2019 Whether or not an animal can escape depends on the unique traits of each species. — Hira Humayun, CNN, "What the Amazon's fires mean for its animals," 28 Aug. 2019 Ultimately, the royalty rate could depend less than a song’s longevity. — Glenn Peoples, Billboard, "How Much Does Song Length Matter for Artists' Revenue?," 28 Aug. 2019 Russia says preserving the cease-fire in Idlib depends on the elimination of thousands of militants. — Time, "Russia Is Trying to Sell Turkey Its Own Stealthy New Fighter After U.S. Revoked Access to F-35," 27 Aug. 2019 Whether the Hurricanes can keep it up for four quarters depends on if redshirt freshman quarterback Darren Williams can move the chains and put points on the board. — Usa Today Sports, USA TODAY, "Staff picks for Florida-Miami (Fla.) season opener for college football," 23 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'depend.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for depend
depend
verb
English Language Learners Definition of depend
informal
—used in speech in phrases like it depends and that depends to say that the answer to a question will be different in different situations
See the full definition for depend in the English Language Learners Dictionary
depend
verb
de·pend
| \ di-ˈpend
\
\
depended;
depending
Kids Definition of depend
: to be subject to determination by the situation
Are you going to the party? I don't know. It depends.
depend on
1
: to rely for support
Children depend on their parents.
2
: to be determined by or based on a person, action, or condition
The people had been very proud … that victory or defeat depended on them.— Theodore Taylor, The Cay
3
: trust entry 1 sense 2, rely
You can depend on me to get the job done.
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