de|part|ment ◆◆◆ /d I pɑː r tmənt/ (departments )
1 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A department is one of the sections in an organization such as a government, business, or university. A department is also one of the sections in a large shop. □ [+ of ] …the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. □ He moved to the sales department. □ …the jewelry department.
2 PHRASE If you say that a task or area of knowledge is not your department , you mean that you are not responsible for it or do not know much about it. □ 'I'm afraid the name means nothing to me,' he said. 'That's not my department.' SYNONYMS department NOUN 1
office: …Downing Street's press office.
division: …the sales division.
de|part|men|tal /diː pɑː r tme nt ə l/ ADJ [ADJ n] Departmental is used to describe the activities, responsibilities, or possessions of a department in a government, company, or other organization. □ …the departmental budget.
de|pa rt|ment store (department stores ) N‑COUNT A department store is a large shop which sells many different kinds of goods.
de|par|ture ◆◇◇ /d I pɑː r tʃə r / (departures )
1 N‑VAR [oft with poss] Departure or a departure is the act of going away from somewhere. □ [+ for ] …the President's departure for Helsinki. □ [+ of ] They hoped this would lead to the departure of all foreign forces from the country. □ [+ from ] The airline has more than 90 scheduled departures from here every day.
2 N‑VAR [with poss] The departure of a person from a job, or a member from an organization, is their act of leaving it or being forced to leave it. [FORMAL ] □ [+ from ] This would inevitably involve his departure from the post of Prime Minister.
3 N‑COUNT If someone does something different or unusual, you can refer to their action as a departure . □ [+ from ] In a departure from tradition, some union leaders condemned the strikes. COLLOCATIONS departure NOUN
1
adjective + departure : early; scheduled
verb + departure : announce; delay
2
adjective + departure : abrupt, hasty, shock, sudden; imminent, impending; acrimonious
verb + departure : hasten
3
adjective + departure : major, new, significant; dramatic, radical
de|pa r|ture lounge (departure lounges ) N‑COUNT In an airport, the departure lounge is the place where passengers wait before they get onto their plane.
de|pa r|ture tax (departure taxes ) N‑VAR Departure tax is a tax that airline passengers have to pay in order to use an airport. □ Many countries charge departure tax in U.S. dollars rather than local currency.
de|pend ◆◆◇ /d I pe nd/ (depends , depending , depended )
1 VERB If you say that one thing depends on another, you mean that the first thing will be affected or determined by the second. □ [V + on/upon ] The cooking time needed depends on the size of the potato. □ [V + on/upon ] How much it costs depends upon how much you buy.
2 VERB If you depend on someone or something, you need them in order to be able to survive physically, financially, or emotionally. □ [V + on/upon ] He depended on his writing for his income. □ [V + on/upon ] Choosing the right account depends on working out your likely average balance.
3 VERB If you can depend on a person, organization, or law, you know that they will support you or help you when you need them. □ [V + on/upon ] 'You can depend on me,' Cross assured him.
4 VERB You use depend in expressions such as it depends to indicate that you cannot give a clear answer to a question because the answer will be affected or determined by other factors. □ [V ] 'But how long can you stay in the house?'—'I don't know. It depends.'. □ [V + on ] It all depends on your definition of punk, doesn't it?
5 PHRASE You use depending on when you are saying that something varies according to the circumstances mentioned. □ I tend to have a different answer, depending on the family. USAGE depend
Depend
is never an adjective. Don’t say, for example, that someone or something ‘
de|pend|able /d I pe ndəb ə l/ ADJ If you say that someone or something is dependable , you approve of them because you feel that you can be sure that they will always act consistently or sensibly, or do what you need them to do. [APPROVAL ] □ He was a good friend, a dependable companion.
de|pend|ant /d I pe ndənt/ (dependants ) also dependent N‑COUNT Your dependants are the people you support financially, such as your children. [FORMAL ] □ The British Legion raises funds to help ex-service personnel and their dependants.
de|pend|ence /d I pe ndəns/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Your dependence on something or someone is your need for them in order to succeed or be able to survive. □ [+ on ] …the city's traditional dependence on tourism.