Adjacent Words

Depend definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEPEND, v.i. [L. To hang.]
1. To hang; to be sustained by being fastened or attached to something above; followed by from.
From the frozen beard
Long icicles depend.
2. To be connected with anything, as the cause of its existence or of its operation and effects; to rely on; to have such connection with any thing as a cause, that without it, the effect would not be produced; followed by on or upon. We depend on God for existence; we depend on air for respiration; vegetation depends on heat and moisture; the infant depends on its parents for support; the peace of society depends on good laws and a faithful administration.
3. To adhere; to hold to; to be retained.
4. To be in suspense; to be undetermined; as, the cause still depends. But the verb is seldom used in this sense. We use the participle; as, the suit is still depending in court.
5. To rely; to rest with confidence; to trust; to confide; to have full confidence or belief, we depend on the word or assurance of our friends. We depend on the arrival of the mail at the usual hour. Depend on it, the knave will deceive us.
To depend on or upon, to rely; to trust in, with confidence.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: be contingent upon (something that is elided); "That depends"
2: have faith or confidence in; "you can count on me to help you any time"; "Look to your friends for support"; "You can bet on that!"; "Depend on your family in times of crisis" [syn: count, bet, depend, look, calculate, reckon]

Merriam Webster's

intransitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French dependre, modification of Latin depend?re, from de- + pend?re to hang — more at pendant Date: 15th century 1. to be determined, based, or contingent <life depends on food> <the value of Y depends on X> 2. to be pending or undecided 3. a. to place reliance or trust <you can depend on me> b. to be dependent especially for financial support 4. to hang down

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.intr. 1 (often foll. by on, upon) be controlled or determined by (success depends on hard work; it depends on whether they agree; it depends how you tackle the problem). 2 (foll. by on, upon) a be unable to do without (depends on her mother). b rely on (I'm depending on you to come). 3 (foll. by on, upon) be grammatically dependent on. 4 (often foll. by from) archaic poet. hang down. Phrases and idioms: depend upon it! you may be sure! it (or it all or that) depends expressing uncertainty or qualification in answering a question (Will they come? It depends). Etymology: ME f. OF dependre ult. f. L dependere (as DE-, pendere hang)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Depend De*pend", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Depended; p. pr. & vb. n. Depending.] [F. d['e]pendre, fr. L. depend?re; de- + pend?re to hang. See Pendant.] 1. To hang down; to be sustained by being fastened or attached to something above. And ever-living lamps depend in rows. --Pope. 2. To hang in suspense; to be pending; to be undetermined or undecided; as, a cause depending in court. You will not think it unnatural that those who have an object depending, which strongly engages their hopes and fears, should be somewhat inclined to superstition. --Burke. 3. To rely for support; to be conditioned or contingent; to be connected with anything, as a cause of existence, or as a necessary condition; -- followed by on or upon, formerly by of. The truth of God's word dependeth not of the truth of the congregation. --Tyndale. The conclusion . . . that our happiness depends little on political institutions, and much on the temper and regulation of our own minds. --Macaulay. Heaven forming each on other to depend. --Pope. 4. To trust; to rest with confidence; to rely; to confide; to be certain; -- with on or upon; as, we depend on the word or assurance of our friends; we depend on the mail at the usual hour. But if you 're rough, and use him like a dog, Depend upon it -- he 'll remain incog. --Addison. 5. To serve; to attend; to act as a dependent or retainer. [Obs.] --Shak. 6. To impend. [Obs.] --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(depends, depending, depended) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you say that one thing depends on 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... How much it costs depends upon how much you buy. VERB: V on/upon n, V on/upon wh 2. If you depend on someone or something, you need them in order to be able to survive physically, financially, or emotionally. He depended on his writing for his income... Choosing the right account depends on working out your likely average balance. = rely VERB: V on/upon n/-ing, V on/upon n/-ing 3. If you can depend on 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. = rely VERB: V on/upon n 4. 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.'... It all depends on your definition of punk, doesn't it? VERB: it/that V, it V on n/wh 5. You use depending on when you are saying that something varies according to the circumstances mentioned. I tend to have a different answer, depending on the family... PREP-PHRASE: PREP n/wh

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. Hang, be pendent.

Moby Thesaurus

all depend, bag, bank, bank on, base, be based on, be contingent on, be dependent on, be predicated on, bottom, build, cascade, count on, daggle, dangle, depend on, drabble, drag, draggle, drape, droop, fall, flap, flop, flow, found, ground, hang, hang down, hang in suspense, hang on, hinge, hinge on, lean, lie on, lie with, lop, nod, pend, reckon on, rely on, rest, rest on, rest with, revolve on, sag, sling, stand, stand on, stay, suspend, swag, swing, trail, trust in, turn, turn on, turn upon, weep