RELY ON SOMEONE/SOMETHING - Cambridge Essential American AI Assistant Dictionary Translate Grammar Thesaurus +Plus Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out {{userName}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out Log in / Sign up English (UK) 1 ? true : false } }), searchAutoComplete.changeToLayoutContainer(); tap:AMP.setState({ stateSearch: { autocomplete: stateSearch.dataset != 'wordlists' && stateSearch.term.length 1 } })" / Essential American English 1) ? '/autocomplete/amp?dataset=' + stateSearch.dataset + '&q=' + stateSearch.term : 'https://'" 0 && stateHdr.searchDesk ? 'pa pdd chac-sb tc-bd bw hbr-20 hbss lpt-25' : 'hdn'" {{word}} {{#beta}} Beta{{/beta}} {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{^selected}} {{name}} {{/selected}} {{/preferredDictionaries}} Meaning of rely on someone/something in Essential American English Dictionary rely on someone/something — phrasal verb with rely verb us Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio /rɪˈlɑɪ/ present participle relying | past tense and past participle relied Add to word list Add to word list to need someone or something: We rely too much on our cars. to trust someone or something: I know I can rely on you to help me. (Definition of rely on someone/something from the Webster's Essential Mini Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) Translations of rely on someone/something in more languages in Japanese in Catalan in Korean in Italian ～に頼る, ～を信頼する… See more dependre d’algú/ac, confiar en algú/ac, comptar amb algú/ac… See more -가 필요한, -를 믿는… See more dipendere da qualcuno/qualcosa, contare su qualcuno/qualcosa, fidarsi di qualcuno/qualcosa… See more Need a translator? Get a quick, free translation! Translator tool   Browse religion religious reluctance reluctant rely on someone/something remain remaining remains remark {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}} Word of the Day comfort zone UK Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio /ˈkʌm.fət ˌzəʊn/ US Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio /ˈkʌm.fɚt ˌzoʊn/ a situation in which you feel comfortable and in which your ability and determination are not being tested About this Blog Hitting the nail on the head: idioms with ‘hit’ July 22, 2026 Read More graduation creep" layout="responsive" graduation creep" class="lc1" / New Words graduation creep July 20, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents Essential American EnglishTranslations AI Assistant Facebook Instagram X © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2026 Learn Learn Learn New Words Help In Print Word of the Year 2021 Word of the Year 2022 Word of the Year 2023 Word of the Year 2024 Word of the Year 2025 Develop Develop Develop Dictionary API Double-Click Lookup Search Widgets License Data About About About Accessibility Cambridge English Cambridge University Press & Assessment Consent Management Cookies and Privacy Corpus Terms of Use AI Terms of Use Facebook Instagram X © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2026 {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Learn more with +Plus Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Learn more with +Plus Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus My profile +Plus help Log out Log in / Sign up English (UK)   Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}} Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Dictionary +Plus Word Lists Choose your language English (UK)   English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents Essential American English Phrasal verb Translations Grammar All translations My word lists To add rely on someone/something to a word list please sign up or log in. Sign up or Log in My word lists Add rely on someone/something to one of your lists below, or create a new one. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}} {{message}} {{/message}} {{^message}} Something went wrong. {{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} 5 && !stateSidebarWordList.expended) ? 195 : (stateSidebarWordListItems.length * 39)" [src]="stateSidebarWordListItems" {{name}} 5 && !stateSidebarWordList.expended) ? 'hao hp lmt-25' : 'hdn'" More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}} {{message}} {{/message}} {{^message}} Something went wrong. {{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}} {{message}} {{/message}} {{^message}} There was a problem sending your report. {{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}} {{message}} {{/message}} {{^message}} There was a problem sending your report. {{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}