From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdepend on/upon somebody/something phrasal verb1 DEPEND/IT DEPENDSif something depends on something else, it is directly affected or decided by that thing The length of time spent exercising depends on the sport you are training for.depend on how/what/whether etc Choosing the right bike depends on what you want to use it for.depending on something The expenses you claim can vary enormously, depending on travel distances involved.2 DEPEND ON/RELY ONNEEDto need the support, help, or existence of someone or something in order to exist, be healthy, be successful etc SYN rely on The country depends heavily on its tourist trade. We depend entirely on donations from the public.depend on somebody/something for something Many women have to depend on their husbands for their state pension.depend on somebody/something to do something I’m depending on you to tell me everything.depend on somebody/something doing something We’re depending on him finishing the job by Friday.3 DEPEND ON/RELY ONto trust or have confidence in someone or something You can depend on Jane – she always keeps her promises. → depend→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
depend on/upon • He added that the application procedure is very complicated and depends on full information from the tenant.• She can be power or grace, depending on the mood and the setting.• The simulation process is parallel, since one simulation does not depend on the outcome of a previous one.• Deciding on the right level for a band depends on the policy ideas which characterize different agents.• Water along the banks rose 2 to 10 feet, depending on the width of the river.• In some HMOs, payments to individual physicians are adjusted depending on their costs that month.• Which is why federal engineers in the same grades sometimes get different pay, depending on what they engineer.• Your choice of exercise must also depend on your general state of health.depend on how/what/whether etc• The proportion of genes which an individual shares with a relation depends on how close the relationship is.• But a lot depends on how good a job Claris does when it comes to adding the final gloss.• In return, major donors were granted various privileges, depending on how much they had given.• The correlation here is somewhat subtle and depends on whether one is near to the bifurcation points or far from them.• What you do depends on whether the cold radiator is the only one affected, or whether others are cold too.• The second approach may have similar weaknesses, but this will depend on how the individual curricula are combined.• This was generous or brutal, depending on how you looked at it.• Much depends on what you want to do with the model.depends heavily• Rural development in the Western Isles periphery depends heavily on finance from the mainland centre.• The success of such programmes depends heavily on how much part their recipients have in their design and execution.• Secondly, the measurement of performance depends heavily on the relevance, adequacy and timeliness of information.• The poetry of the first four volumes depends heavily on the simile to set the mood of the poem.• This is a complicated process, since what is possible depends heavily on what we believe.• The success of this venture depends heavily upon the quantity and quality of the research which can be assembled and examined.• The engine depends heavily upon turbocharging and on five valves per cylinder for its 150 horsepower. 