deposit */*/

I UK [dɪˈpɒzɪt] / US [dɪˈpɑzɪt] noun [countable]
Word forms "deposit":
singular deposit plural deposits

1) a first payment that you make when you agree to buy something expensive such as a car or house. The rest of the money that you pay later is called the balance

She paid a £500 deposit, and agreed to pay the balance within six months.

put down a deposit (= pay it):

We've put down a deposit on a new house.

2) an amount of money that you pay when you start to rent something such as a flat or car, that is returned to you when you stop renting it

3) an amount of money that you pay into a bank account

make a deposit:

He made a £2,000 cash deposit on 5 April.

4) in the UK, an amount of money that someone pays to become a candidate in an election. Candidates who do not get many votes do not get their deposit back after the election

lose your deposit (= get very few votes):

The Conservative candidate came last and lost her deposit.

5)

a) a layer of a metal or another substance that has formed in soil or rock

Rich mineral deposits have been discovered in the area.

b) a layer of a substance that gradually forms on or inside something

the build-up of fat deposits in the arteries

II UK [dɪˈpɒzɪt] / US [dɪˈpɑzɪt] verb [transitive]
Word forms "deposit":
present tense I/you/we/they deposit he/she/it deposits present participle depositing past tense deposited past participle deposited

1) formal to put or leave something somewhere

They deposited their suitcases at the hotel.

2) to pay money into a bank account

Billions of dollars are deposited in banks every day.

3) to put something valuable in a safe place

4) if a substance is deposited in the soil or in rock, it gradually gathers there and forms a layer

These sediments were deposited by floods thousands of years ago.