How to Use rely on/upon in a Sentence

rely on/upon

phrasal verb
  • Can the 49ers rely on Moody to make a clutch kick with a championship on the line?
    — Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2024
  • The judge must rely on her wits, strength and skill to find a way to end the standoff, save the hostages and fight her way out.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 June 2023
  • Most Gazans live in refugee camps and rely on U.N. rations.
    — Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2023
  • But the Mets rely on the depth of their lineup instead of one hitter.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
  • In fact, so many travelers rely on it that more than 3,000 were sold in the last month.
    — Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2024
  • The Houthis rely on pirates for smuggling oil and weapons, Ahmed said.
    — Soham Mitra, Lou Robinson and Patrick Gallagher, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
  • Two of the four charges in the case before the Supreme Court Thursday rely on portions of the same statute at issue in that case.
    — USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024
  • For the Armstrong family’s side of the story, Chim had to rely on the public record.
    — Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2023
  • Few teams rely on the 3 more than the undersized Grizzlies.
    — The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2025
  • The Dolphins will likely have to rely on Duck to help limit the Adams-Wilson pair.
    — Pierre Taylor, Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2025
  • Unlike the Instant Pot, the Dream Cooker doesn’t rely on a ton of presets.
    — Carina Finn, Bon Appétit, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Tolver said players don’t have to rely on companies to come to them.
    — Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2023
  • But the colleges that rely on the funding the most are often the ones with the fewest financial resources, Baime said.
    — Danielle Douglas-Gabriel The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2025
  • However, the Rockies must rely on youth and the promise of their prospects to forge a turnaround.
    — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025
  • And for me, this album has nothing else to rely on, but the quality of the thought, the songwriting.
    — Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Buyers now rely on non-QM loans to buy condos in Florida, and the rates and terms are worse.
    — Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
  • With that type of schedule, no longer could Iowa rely on just defense and special teams.
    — Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 29 May 2025
  • The remaining players will therefore have to rely on their instincts to know whether there is still a traitor left in the game.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2025
  • South Korea and Japan rely on China for more than 90 percent of their graphite needs.
    — Lily Kuo, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Not having someone to rely on can drive up trips to the emergency room, the survey found.
    — Byalexa Mikhail, Fortune Well, 15 Nov. 2023
  • One way to incite fear is to rely on stereotypes, experts say.
    — Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 7 July 2023
  • Many of us rely on the app for news, activism and entertainment.
    — Marium Zahra, Sun Sentinel, 2 July 2024
  • But few rely on it to ensure safety in relation to the core function of their app.
    — Khadijah Khogeer, NBC News, 19 July 2023
  • After adult salmon have spawned and died off in the fall, the Yurok people rely on the long, ugly fish for sustenance in the winter months.
    — oregonlive, 17 June 2023
  • The Carlins rely on easy, grab-and-go snacks like fruit, yogurt and veggie chips to keep their kids fueled throughout the day.
    — Valerie Mesa, People.com, 28 July 2025
  • The Hoover CleanSlate Plus, unlike many of the other picks on our list of best steam cleaners, doesn’t rely on just water to clean.
    — Paige Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 July 2023
  • She’s had to rely on her 401(k) retirement savings to support her and her son more than once.
    — Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
  • There is a reason Smith does not have a solid statutory crime to rely on.
    — The Editors, National Review, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Don't rely on your genes to do the heavy lifting, and remember that small changes can lead to big payoffs for your longevity.
    — Sharon Basaraba, Verywell Health, 28 July 2025
  • The Sportico Sports Stock Index is a basket of 40 stocks that rely on sports for a significant portion of future growth.
    — Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rely on/upon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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