|1.||to put or set down, esp carefully or in a proper place; place|
|2.||to entrust for safekeeping; consign|
|3.||to place (money) in a bank or similar institution in order to earn interest or for safekeeping|
|4.||to give (money) in part payment or as security|
|5.||to lay down naturally; cause to settle: the river deposits silt|
|6.||a. an instance of entrusting money or valuables to a bank or similar institution|
|b. the money or valuables so entrusted|
|7.||See also down payment money given in part payment or as security, as when goods are bought on hire-purchase|
|8.||a consideration, esp money, given temporarily as security against loss of or damage to something borrowed or hired|
|9.||an accumulation of sediments, mineral ores, coal, etc|
|10.||any deposited material, such as a sediment or a precipitate that has settled out of solution|
|11.||a coating produced on a surface, esp a layer of metal formed by electrolysis|
|12.||a depository or storehouse|
|13.||on deposit payable as the first instalment, as when buying on hire-purchase|
|[C17: from Medieval Latin dēpositāre, from Latin dēpositus put down]|
deposit de·pos·it (dĭ-pŏz'ĭt)
v. de·pos·it·ed, de·pos·it·ing, de·pos·its
To lay down or leave behind by a natural process.
To become deposited; settle.
An accumulation of organic or inorganic material, such as a lipid, in a body tissue, structure, or fluid.
A sediment or precipitate that has settled out of a solution.
|deposit (dĭ-pŏz'ĭt) Pronunciation Key
An accumulation or layer of solid material, either consolidated or unconsolidated, left or laid down by a natural process. Deposits include sediments left by water, wind, ice, gravity, volcanic activity, or other agents. A layer of coal formed over many years through the decomposition of plant material is also a deposit.