to need or depend on somebody/something
Example:
- The charity relies solely on donations from the public.
- They had to rely entirely on volunteer workers.
- The charity relies heavily on public support and donations.
- As babies, we rely entirely on others for food.
- These days we rely heavily on computers to organize our work.
- The industry relies on the price of raw materials remaining low.
Extra examples:
- Most historians simply rely on archives.
- They relied entirely on these few weapons for their defence.
- countries that rely heavily on food aid
- people who are forced to rely on public transport/transportation
to trust or have faith in somebody/something
Example:
- You should rely on your own judgement.
- He's a great athlete who must learn to rely more on his natural instincts.
- We have to rely on the only available evidence.
- You can rely on me to keep your secret.
- He can't be relied on to tell the truth.
- I couldn't rely on John for information.
Extra examples:
- Who can you rely on these days?
- You can always rely on Holly to say the wrong thing.
- You can safely rely on his judgement.
- You can safely rely on the report's conclusions.
- The party could no longer rely on its traditional supporters.
- I generally rely on instinct when I cook, rather than using a recipe.