dependent: Meaning and Definition of

de•pend•ent

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. 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. Cf. independent (def. 14), (def. 4).
5. hanging down; pendent.
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. (of an event or a value) not statistically independent.

1. a person who depends on or needs someone or something for aid, support, favor, etc.
2. 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.
3. a subordinate part.