depended; depending; depends
1
a
: to be determined, based, or contingent (see contingent entry 1 sense 1)
Life depends on water.
Our plans depend on the weather.
the value of Y depends on X
b
—used to say that the answer to a question will be different in different situations
"Are you going to the party?" "I don't know. It depends."
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
Shaking them out means better airflow, which cuts drying time usually by 10-15 minutes depending on the load.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
Work should be completed by the end of December, depending on the weather.
—Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
Plans for the walk could change depending on the weather, with a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Feb. 2026
Afterall, water ice is exactly what skiing on Earth depends on.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 13 Feb. 2026
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Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
Work should be completed by the end of December, depending on the weather.
—Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
Plans for the walk could change depending on the weather, with a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Feb. 2026
Afterall, water ice is exactly what skiing on Earth depends on.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for depend
Cite this Entry
“Depend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depend. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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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