count on/upon somebody/something phrasal verb ( see also ↑ count )
1 . to depend on someone or something, especially in a difficult situation:
You can count on me.
With luck, you might cover your costs, but don’t count on it.
count on (somebody/something) doing something
We’re all counting on winning this contract.
They were counting on him not coming out of hospital.
count on somebody/something to do something
You can count on Dean to ruin any party.
2 . to expect something:
The presence of Paula was one thing he hadn’t counted on.
count on (somebody/something) doing something
We didn’t count on so many people being on vacation.