dependency
part of speech
noun (a dependency, dependencies; also uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) Relying on someone or something to survive, cope or work: «the baby's dependency on its parents». tree →
2) A state of needing a drug, alcohol or a habit and finding it very hard to stop; addiction: «nicotine dependency». tree →
3) (politics, geography) A territory ruled by another country but not fully part of it: «The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency». tree →
4) (computing) A piece of code or a program that another program needs in order to work. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and PSHE, pupils learn about food chains and how living things depend on each other, and about the dangers of drug, alcohol and screen dependency. In geography, the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man) belong to the British Crown but are not part of the UK. In computing, a project lists its dependencies. Phrases: «dependency on», «drug dependency», «Crown Dependency», «a culture of dependency».
examples
- A newborn baby has total dependency on its parents. tree →
- The country tried to reduce its dependency on oil. tree →
- Nicotine dependency makes it hard for smokers to quit. tree →
- Jersey is a Crown Dependency, not part of the UK. tree →
- Our game would not run because a dependency was missing. tree →
- Too much dependency on calculators can make mental maths harder. tree →
note
Plural: dependencies (y → ies). Close to «dependence»; «dependence» is more often used for the general idea of relying, «dependency» for addiction, territories and computing. Adjective: «dependent» (relying); noun «dependant» (UK) or «dependent» (US) means a person who depends on someone, like a child.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «dependency» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.