depend
/dɪˈpɛnd/verb
depend is spelled D-E-P-E-N-D: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, depend means “To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in depend?
| Letters | 6: D-E-P-E-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 16 times per million words; the 5,121st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is depend?
Depend appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce depend?
- UK /dɪˈpɛnd/
- US /dɪˈpɛnd/
- US /di-/
Depend has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-depend.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with depend?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as depend from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnd/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of depend
- depends present, singular, he/she/it
- depending participle, present
- depended participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does depend mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition
We would like to go skiing, but it depends on the amount of snow.
- 2
To trust; to have confidence; to rely.
we should all be able to depend on the word or assurance of our friends
- 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
archaicTo be pending; to be undetermined or undecided.
a cause depending in court
- 5
To cause to be contingent or dependent on; to set as a necessity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Depend in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dépendre , pendre |
| German | abhängen, ankommen |
| Portuguese | depender , pendurar , confiar |
| Spanish | depender/pender (de), ser dependiente (de) , pender |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does depend come from?
Inherited from Middle English dependen, from Old French dependre, from Latin dependeō, from dē- + pendeō (“to be suspended, hang”). In this sense, displaced native Old English hangian (“to hang or depend”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).