The Collaborative International Dictionary
On \On\ ([o^]n), prep. [OE. on, an, o, a, AS. on, an; akin to D. aan, OS. & G. an, OHG. ana, Icel. [=a], Sw. [*a], Goth. ana, Russ. na, L. an-, in anhelare to pant, Gr. 'ana`, Zend ana. The general signification of on is situation, motion, or condition with respect to contact or support beneath; as:
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At, or in contact with, the surface or upper part of a thing, and supported by it; placed or lying in contact with the surface; as, the book lies on the table, which stands on the floor of a house on an island.
I stood on the bridge at midnight.
--Longfellow. -
To or against the surface of; -- used to indicate the motion of a thing as coming or falling to the surface of another; as, rain falls on the earth.
Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken.
--Matt. xxi. 44. Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with; as, to play on a violin or piano. Hence, figuratively, to work on one's feelings; to make an impression on the mind.
At or near; adjacent to; -- indicating situation, place, or position; as, on the one hand, on the other hand; the fleet is on the American coast.
In addition to; besides; -- indicating multiplication or succession in a series; as, heaps on heaps; mischief on mischief; loss on loss; thought on thought.
--Shak.Indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in; as, to depend on a person for assistance; to rely on; hence, indicating the ground or support of anything; as, he will promise on certain conditions; to bet on a horse; based on certain assumptions.
At or in the time of; during; as, on Sunday we abstain from labor. See At (synonym).
At the time of; -- often conveying some notion of cause or motive; as, on public occasions, the officers appear in full dress or uniform; the shop is closed on Sundays. Hence, in consequence of, or following; as, on the ratification of the treaty, the armies were disbanded; start on the count of three.
Toward; for; -- indicating the object of some passion; as, have pity or compassion on him.
At the peril of, or for the safety of. ``Hence, on thy life.''
--Dryden.By virtue of; with the pledge of; -- denoting a pledge or engagement, and put before the thing pledged; as, he affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honor.
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To the account of; -- denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon; as, on us be all the blame; a curse on him.
His blood be on us and on our children.
--Matt. xxvii. 25. In reference or relation to; as, on our part expect punctuality; a satire on society.
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Of. [Obs.] ``Be not jealous on me.''
--Shak.Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner?
--Shak.Note: Instances of this usage are common in our older writers, and are sometimes now heard in illiterate speech.
Occupied with; in the performance of; as, only three officers are on duty; on a journey; on the job; on an assignment; on a case; on the alert.
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In the service of; connected with; a member of; as, he is on a newspaper; on a committee.
Note: On and upon are in general interchangeable. In some applications upon is more euphonious, and is therefore to be preferred; but in most cases on is preferable.
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In reference to; about; concerning; as, to think on it; to meditate on it.
On a bowline. (Naut.) Same as Closehauled.
On a wind, or On the wind (Naut.), sailing closehauled.
On a sudden. See under Sudden.
On board, On draught, On fire, etc. See under Board, Draught, Fire, etc.
On it, On't, of it. [Obs. or Colloq.]
--Shak.On shore, on land; to the shore.
On the road, On the way, On the wing, etc. See under Road, Way, etc.
On to, upon; on; to; -- sometimes written as one word, onto, and usually called a colloquialism; but it may be regarded in analogy with into.
They have added the -en plural form on to an elder plural.
--Earle.We see the strength of the new movement in the new class of ecclesiastics whom it forced on to the stage.
--J. R. Green.
Wiktionary
alt. 1 upon; on top of. 2 (context informal English) aware of. 3 Used to indicate, or signpost, logical progression to a new topic in a talk or discourse. prep. 1 upon; on top of. 2 (context informal English) aware of. 3 Used to indicate, or signpost, logical progression to a new topic in a talk or discourse.
Usage examples of "on to".
He decided to wait till later on to ask what her friends had said it felt like.
Most students, prudently, refused to be trapped into any opinion, pro or con, but there was a small contingent, eight of the thirty-two, who could be relied on to parrot Mrs.
Why should I be called on to subsidize his more extensive self-destruction?
But there is also something to be said for drugs, so long as you can hold on to your sanity, your health, and your own considered purpose in life.
Daniel, who could be counted on to respond with sympathetic indignation.
Daniel, having come with another party, stayed on to have coffee at Mrs.
A goldenhaired child in a flowing white dress was dancing along a narrow cliff path beside which was a long drop on to the rocks below.
She had heard that I was staying on to help my cousin nurse her husband.
On this particular day the boys had led me on to the downward slopes and as the land grew flat we came to a little wood in which the trees grew so close that the branches caught us as we rode beneath them.
We drove to the inn where we had stabled our horses on another occasion and there a window looking on to the square in which was the church had been kept for us.
She went on to tell me how Prinzstein the coachman had asked if there was a place for his wife Frieda and how she had decided that there was work enough to the fortress for her because Ella had developed an unexpected talent for the concocting of wine and cordials and she could make use of that.
Frieda was trembling so much that the box of matches in the saucerlike base of the candlestick fell on to the bed.
Prinzstein went on to say that it would not be long before war was declared.
These forces fasten themselves soonest and with the greatest affinity on to the Will which puts in motion and guides the whole mass of powers, uniting with it as it were in one stream, because this is a moral force itself.
The client in question was very sweet and charming and essentially immature, hi the end, I referred him on to a sexual surrogate who worked with his kind of dysfunction.