dependent

[dih-pen-duh nt] /dɪˈpɛn dənt/
adjective
1.
relying on someone or something else for aid, support, etc.
2.
conditioned or determined by something else; contingent:
Our trip is dependent on the weather.
3.
subordinate; subject:
a dependent territory.
4.
Grammar. not used in isolation; used only in connection with other forms. In I walked out when the bell rang, when the bell rang is a dependent clause.
Compare independent (def 14), main1 (def 4).
5.
hanging down; pendent.
6.
Mathematics.
  1. (of a variable) having values determined by one or more independent variables.
  2. (of an equation) having solutions that are identical to those of another equation or to those of a set of equations.
7.
Statistics. (of an event or a value) not statistically independent.
noun
8.
a person who depends on or needs someone or something for aid, support, favor, etc.
9.
a child, spouse, parent, or certain other relative to whom one contributes all or a major amount of necessary financial support:
She listed two dependents on her income-tax form.
10.
Archaic. a subordinate part.
Also, dependant.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English dependaunt. See depend, -ent
Related forms
dependently, adverb
overdependent, adjective
predependent, adjective
quasi-dependent, adjective
quasi-dependently, adverb
self-dependent, adjective
self-dependently, adverb
semidependent, adjective
semidependently, adverb
undependent, adjective
Can be confused
dependant, dependent.
Examples from the web for dependent
  • Physically small and weak, economically dependent upon others, they cannot control their environment.
  • America's economy is still dangerously dependent on its financially overstretched consumers.
  • The book's premise is that gods and humans are mutually dependent on one another and shaped by one another's ambitions and feuds.
  • Q: My child is no longer a dependent on my tax return.
  • When you are looking at moving to a new home make sure you are not going to be completely car dependent.
  • Many of these plants are dependent on the bat for reproduction.
  • It turns out that a few tasks were dependent on earlier stages.
  • She also recalls the present-day life of her aging, increasingly dependent mother.
  • No single official, department, or even ministry bears overall responsibility for the dependent territories.
  • Northern prosperity was widely regarded as heavily dependent on its merchant marine.
British Dictionary definitions for dependent

dependent

/dɪˈpɛndənt/
adjective
1.
depending on a person or thing for aid, support, life, etc
2.
(postpositive; foll by on or upon) influenced or conditioned (by); contingent (on)
3.
subordinate; subject: a dependent prince
4.
(obsolete) hanging down
5.
(maths)
  1. (of a variable) having a value depending on that assumed by a related independent variable
  2. (of a linear equation) having every solution as a solution of one or more given linear equations
noun
6.
(grammar) an element in a phrase or clause that is not the governor
7.
a variant spelling (esp US) of dependant
Derived Forms
dependently, adverb
dependant
Word Origin and History for dependent

15c., variant spelling of dependant, now mostly restricted to adjectival use; see -ance. Dependent variable in mathematics is recorded from 1852.

dependent in Medicine

dependent de·pend·ent (dĭ-pěn'dənt)
adj.

  1. Contingent on or subordinate to another.

  2. Relying on or requiring the aid of another for support.

  3. Hanging down.

n.
One who relies on another especially for financial support.