depends

/dɪˈpɛndz/

//dɪˈpɛndz// verb

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

"depends" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“depends” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,828. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,828
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - third-person singular simple present indicative of depend

Corpus desk

Index EN-depends · depends · English

depends · rank #2,828 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,828
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH deaths

Nearest frequency peer: deaths (-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 “depends”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “depends” 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).

depends vs deeds
71% similar
depends vs defend
71% similar
depends vs depend
86% similar

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

Key facts for depends
PropertyValue
Headworddepends
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪˈpɛndz/
Letters7
Frequency rank#2,828
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “depends”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).dependslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “deaths” (#2,827), “drawn” (#2,829), “contest” (#2,826). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “depends” is #2,828. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around depends (IPA /dɪˈpɛndz/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,828 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "third-person singular simple present indicative of depend".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for depends, with forms such as "ddepends", "deepnds", and "depedns". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "deeds", "defend", "depend", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is depends, spelled D-E-P-E-N-D-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    third-person singular simple present indicative of depend

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddepends
  • deepnds
  • depedns
  • dependds
  • dependss
  • depennds
  • depensd
  • depneds
  • deppends
  • dpeends
  • edpends

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of depends - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddepends1deepnds2depedns2dependds1dependss1depennds1depensd2depneds2
Edit distance from "depends"

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 "depends"?
"depends" is spelled D-E-P-E-N-D-S. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈpɛndz/.
What does "depends" mean?
As a verb, "depends" means: third-person singular simple present indicative of depend
What words are commonly confused with "depends"?
"depends" is commonly confused with "deeds", "defend", "depend". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "depends"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "depends" is /dɪˈpɛndz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "depends" come from?
"depends" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "depends", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

contest#2,826closely#2,824causing#2,823invited#2,839

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

officially11 variantsportion11 variantsrespond11 variantsultimate11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list