depending

/dɪˈpɛn.dɪŋ/

//dɪˈpɛn.dɪŋ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"depending" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“depending” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,669. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,669
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of depend

Corpus desk

Index EN-depending · depending · English

depending · rank #2,669 · 14 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,669
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH defined

Nearest frequency peer: defined (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “depending”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “depending” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

depending vs descending
80% similar
depending vs defending
89% similar
depending vs dependent
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for depending
PropertyValue
Headworddepending
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪˈpɛn.dɪŋ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#2,669
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “depending”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).dependinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “defined” (#2,668), “depression” (#2,670), “DC” (#2,667). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “depending” is #2,669. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around depending (IPA /dɪˈpɛn.dɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,669 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of depend".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for depending, with forms such as "ddepending", "deepnding", and "depedning". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "descending", "defending", "dependent", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is depending, spelled D-E-P-E-N-D-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of depend

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how depending appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Johnson said, “Depending on how it melts, a lot of the freshwater will be leaving the region for the ocean, which will have severe impacts on water and food security."

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddepending
  • deepnding
  • depedning
  • dependding
  • dependign
  • dependingg
  • dependinng
  • dependnig
  • depenidng
  • depennding
  • depneding
  • deppending
  • dpeending
  • edpending

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of depending - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddepending1deepnding2depedning2dependding1dependign2dependingg1dependinng1dependnig2
Edit distance from "depending"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "depending"?
"depending" is spelled D-E-P-E-N-D-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈpɛn.dɪŋ/.
What does "depending" mean?
As a verb, "depending" means: present participle and gerund of depend
What words are commonly confused with "depending"?
"depending" is commonly confused with "descending", "defending", "dependent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "depending"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "depending" is /dɪˈpɛn.dɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "depending" come from?
"depending" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "depending", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

exclusive#2,675hopefully#2,681personnel#2,693programme#2,641

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

depression14 variantsbasketball14 variantspersonally14 variantspermanent14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list