English Explanatory Dictionary

depend

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition
  2. To trust; to have confidence; to rely.
  3. To hang down; to be sustained by being fastened or attached to something above, especially in heraldry, where a badge, decoration, or element is suspended from another part of an achievement of arms.
  4. To be pending; to be undetermined or undecided.
  5. To cause to be contingent or dependent on; to set as a necessity.

Pronunciation

/dɪˈpɛnd/ /di-/ en-us-depend.ogg /dəˈpɛnd/ /dɪˈpend/ /dəˈpend/

Word forms

depend depends depending depended

Etymology

From Middle English dependen, from Old French dependre and Latin dependeō, from Latin dē- + pendeō (“to hang”). In this sense, displaced native Old English hangian (“to hang or depend”).

Synonyms

hinge on ride pivot

Related words

depending

Derived words

as if one's life depends on it dependability dependable dependancy dependant dependee dependence dependent depender dependingly depending on depends who's asking interdepend it depends like one's life depended on it undepending where you stand depends on where you sit

Translations

Chinese Mandarin: 伺候 Finnish: olla riippuvainen Spanish: atender
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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