DEPEND


Meaning of DEPEND in English

/ dɪˈpend; NAmE / verb

IDIOMS

- depending on

- that depends | it (all) depends

PHRASAL VERBS

- depend on / upon sb/sth

- depend on / upon sb/sth (for sth)

- depend on / upon sth

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GRAMMAR

depend on

In informal English, it is quite common to say depend rather than depend on before words like what , how or whether :

It depends what you mean by 'hostile'.

In formal written English, depend should always be followed by on or upon :

It depends on how you define the term 'hostile'.

Upon is more formal and less frequent than on .

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WORD ORIGIN

late Middle English originally meaning to hang down; also in the sense wait or be in suspense ): from Old French dependre , from Latin dependere , from de- down + pendere hang.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.