Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

On

On

(ŏn)
,
p
rep.
[OE.
on
,
an
,
o
,
a
, AS.
on
,
an
; akin to D.
aan
, OS. & G.
an
, OHG.
ana
, Icel.
ā
, Sw. å, Goth.
ana
, Russ.
na
, L.
an-
, in
anhelare
to pant, Gr.
ἀνά
, Zend
ana
. √195. Cf.
A-
, 1,
Ana-
,
Anon
.]
The general signification of on is situation, motion, or condition with respect to contact or support beneath
; as: –
1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
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
.
4.
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.
5.
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.
7.
At or in the time of; during;
as,
on
Sunday we abstain from labor
. See
At
(synonym).
9.
Toward; for; – indicating the object of some passion;
as, have pity or compassion
on
him
.
10.
At the peril of, or for the safety of.
“Hence, on thy life.”
Dryden.
11.
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
.
12.
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.
13.
In reference or relation to;
as,
on
our part expect punctuality; a satire
on
society.
14.
Of.
[Obs.]
“Be not jealous on me.”
Shak.
Or have we eaten
on
the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?
Shakespeare
☞ Instances of this usage are common in our older writers, and are sometimes now heard in illiterate speech.
16.
In the service of; connected with; a member of;
as, he is
on
a newspaper;
on
a committee.
☞ 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.
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.

On

,
adv.
[See
On
,
p
rep.
]
1.
Forward, in progression; onward; – usually with a verb of motion;
as, move
on
; go
on
; the beat goes
on
.
“Time glides on.”
Macaulay.
The path is smooth that leadeth
on
to danger.
Shakespeare
2.
Forward, in succession;
as, from father to son, from the son to the grandson, and so
on
.
3.
In continuance; without interruption or ceasing;
as, sleep
on
, take your ease; say
on
; sing
on
.
4.
Adhering; not off; as in the phrase, “He is neither on nor off,” that is, he is not steady, he is irresolute.
5.
Attached to the body, as clothing or ornament, or for use.
“I have boots on.”
B. Gonson.
He put
on
righteousness as a breastplate.
Is. lix. 17.
6.
In progress; proceeding; ongoing;
as, a game is
on
.
☞ On is sometimes used as an exclamation, or a command to move or proceed, some verb being understood; as, on, comrades; that is, go on, move on.
On and on
,
continuously; for a long time together.
“Toiling on and on and on.”
Longfellow.

Webster 1828 Edition

On

ON

,
pre.
[L. in; Gr. Hence they denote nearness, closeness or contiguity, and from meeting the Latin in and the English un have their power of negation or opposing.]
1.
Being in contact with the surface or upper part of a thing and supported by it; placed or lying in contact with the surface; as, my book is on the table; the table stands on the floor; the house rests on its foundation; we lie on a bed, or stand on the earth.
2.
Coming or falling to the surface of any thing; as, rain falls on the earth.
Whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken.
Matt. 21.
3.
Performing or acting by contact with the surface, upper part or outside of anything; as, to play on a harp, a violin, or a drum.
4.
Noting addition; as heaps on heaps; mischief on mischief; loss on loss.
5.
At or near. When we say, a vessel is on shore, we mean that she is aground; but when we say, a fleet on a ship is on the American coast, or an isle is situated on the coast of England, we mean only that it is near the coast. So we say, on each side stands an armed man, that is, at or near each side.
So we say, Philadelphia is situated on the Delaware; Middlebury is on the Otter Creek; Guilford stands on the Sound; that is, near the river or Sound, instead of on the bank, side or shore.
6.
It denotes resting for support; as, to depend on, to rely on; hence, the ground of any thing; as, he will covenant on certain considerations or conditions; the considerations being the support of the covenant.
7.
At or in the time of; as, on the sabbath we abstain from labor. We usually say, at the hour, on or in the day, in or on the week, month or year.
8.
At the time of, with some reference to cause or motive. On public occasions, the officers appear in full dress or uniform.
9.
It is put before the object of some passion, with the sense of towards or for. Have pity or compassion on him.
10.
At the peril of, or for the safety of. Hence, on thy life.
11.
Denoting a pledge or engagement, or put before the thing pledged. He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honor.
12.
Noting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling or resting on. On us be all the blame.
His blood be on us, and on our children. Matt. 27.
13.
In consequence of, or immediately after. On the ratification of the treaty, the armies were disbanded.
14.
Noting part, distinction or opposition; as on one side and on the other. On our part, expect punctuality.
On the way, on the road, denote proceeding, traveling, journeying, or making progress.
On the alert, in a state of vigilance or activity.
On high, in an elevated place; sublimely.
On fire, in a state of burning or inflammation, and metaphorically, in a rage or passion.
On a sudden, suddenly.
On the wing, in flight; flying; metaphorically, departing.
On it, on't, is used for of it. I heard nothing on't. the gamester has a poor trade on't. [This use is now vulgar.]
Upon is used in the same sense with on, often with elegance, and frequently without necessity or advantage.

ON

,
adv.
1.
Forward, in progression; as, move on; go on.
2.
Forward, in succession. From father to son, from the son to the grandson, and so on.
3.
In continuance; without interruption or ceasing; as, sleep on, take your ease; say on; sing on; write on.
4.
Adhering; not off; as in the phrase, 'he is neither on nor off,' that is, he is not steady; he is irresolute.
5.
Attached to the body; as, his clothes are not on.
To put on, to attach to the body, as clothes or arms.
On, when it expresses contact with the surface of a thing, is opposed to under, off, or within, and when it expresses contact with the side of a thing, is opposed to off.
On is sometimes used as an exclamation, or rather as a command to move or proceed, some verb being understood; as, cheerily on, courageous friends; that is, go on, move on.

Definition 2024

on

on

See also: Appendix:Variations of "on"

English

Adjective

on ‎(not comparable)

  1. In the state of being active, functioning or operating.
  2. Performing according to schedule.
    Are we still on for tonight?
    Is the show still on?
  3. (chiefly Britain, informal, usually negative) Acceptable, appropriate.
    You can't do that; it's just not on.
    • 1998 May 22, "Phoenix Gamma", If I was owned Nintendo..., alt.games.video.nintendo-64:
      This kind of over-packaging of goods is completely not on.
    • 2003 August 12, "DAB sounds worse than FM", Gerg Dyke's Speech at Radio Festival, alt.radio.digital:
      […] , so Simon Nelson saying on Feedback "we'd prefer it if everybody listened to digital radio via DAB" is completely not on at all.
  4. (informal) Destined, normally in the context of a challenge being accepted; involved, doomed.
    "Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!"
    Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now.
  5. (baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
  6. (euphemistic) Menstruating.
    • 2011, Netmums, Hollie Smith, You and Your Tween: Managing the years from 9 to 13, Hachette UK (ISBN 9780755361137)
      It still gets in the way of her doing things like swimming, and she avoids sleepovers when she's 'on'.
Synonyms
  • (baseball: positioned at a base): on base (not informal)
Translations

Adverb

on ‎(not comparable)

  1. To an operating state.
    turn the television on
  2. Along, forwards (continuing an action).
    drive on, rock on
    • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:
      He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on, with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.
  3. In continuation, at length.
    and so on.
    He rambled on and on.
  4. (cricket) In, or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman; leg.
  5. (not US) Later.
    Ten years on nothing had changed in the village.
Antonyms
Translations

Preposition

A green pepper on (positioned on the upper surface of) a box

on

  1. Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.
    on the table;  on the couch‎
    • Longfellow
      I stood on the bridge at midnight.
  2. At or near; adjacent to.
    Soon we'll pass a statue on the left.
    The fleet is on the American coast.
    Croton-on-Hudson‎, Rostov-on-Don‎, Southend-on-Sea‎
  3. Covering.
    He wore old shoes on his feet.‎
  4. At the date of.
    Born on the 4th of July.‎
  5. Some time during the day of.
    I'll see you on Monday.   The bus leaves on Friday.   Can I see you on a different day? On Sunday I'm busy.‎
  6. Dealing with the subject of, about, or concerning something.
    A book on history.   The World Summit on the Information Society.‎
  7. Touching; hanging from.
    The fruit ripened on the trees.   The painting hangs on the wall.‎
  8. (informal) In the possession of.
    I haven't got any money on me.‎
  9. Because of, or due to.
    To arrest someone on suspicion of bribery.   To contact someone on a hunch.‎
  10. Immediately after.
    On Jack's entry, William got up to leave.‎
  11. Paid for by.
    The drinks are on me tonight, boys.   The meal is on the house.   I paid for the airfare and meals for my family, but the hotel room was on the company.‎
  12. Used to indicate a means or medium.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.
    I saw it on television.   Can't you see I'm on the phone?‎
  13. Indicating a means of subsistence.
    They lived on ten dollars a week.   The dog survived three weeks on rainwater.‎
  14. Away or occupied with (e.g. a scheduled activity).
    He's on his lunch break.   on vacation;  on holiday‎
  15. Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with.
    to play on a violin or piano
    Her words made a lasting impression on my mind.
  16. Regularly taking (a drug).
    You've been on these antidepressants far too long.   He's acting so strangely, I think he must be on something.‎
  17. Under the influence of (a drug).
    He's acting crazy because he's on crack right now.‎
  18. (mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain.
    a function on V
  19. (mathematics) Having as domain and V as codomain, for some set V and integer n.
    an operator on V
  20. (mathematics) Generated by.
    the free group on four letters‎
  21. Supported by (the specified part of itself).
    A table can't stand on two legs.   After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels.‎
  22. At a given time after the start of something; at.
    • 2011 September 24, Aled Williams, “Chelsea 4-1 Swansea”, in BBC Sport:
      The Spain striker had given Chelsea the lead on 29 minutes but was shown a straight red card 10 minutes later for a rash challenge on Mark Gower.
  23. In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.
    heaps on heaps of food
    mischief on mischief; loss on loss
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  24. (obsolete, regional) of
    • Shakespeare
      Be not jealous on me.
    • Shakespeare
      Or have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?
  25. Indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in.
    I depended on them for assistance.
    He will promise on certain conditions.
    Do you ever bet on horses?
  26. Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.
    Have pity or compassion on him.
  27. (obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.
    • Dryden
      Hence, on thy life.
  28. In the service of; connected with; of the number of.
    He is on a newspaper; I am on the committee.
  29. By virtue of; with the pledge of.
    He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honour.
  30. To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.
    On us be all the blame.
    A curse on him!
    Please don't tell on her and get her in trouble.
    He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since.
    He went all honest on me, making me listen to his confession.
    • Bible, Matthew xxvii. 25
      His blood be on us and on our children.
Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

on ‎(third-person singular simple present ons, present participle oning, simple past and past participle oned)

  1. (transitive, Singapore) To switch on.
    Can you on the light?
Synonyms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse ón, án ‎(“without”), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēno, *ino ‎(“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *anew, *enew ‎(“without”). Cognate with North Frisian on ‎(“without”), Middle Dutch an, on ‎(“without”), Middle Low German āne ‎(“without”), German ohne ‎(“without”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌿 ‎(inu, “without, except”), Ancient Greek ἄνευ ‎(áneu, “without”).

Alternative forms

Preposition

on

  1. (Britain dialectal, Scotland) Without.
Usage notes
  • Usually followed by a perfect participle, as being, having, etc.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: be · at · by · #22: on · her · which · have

Anagrams

Azeri

Azeri cardinal numbers
 <  9 10 11  > 
    Cardinal : on
    Ordinal : onuncu

Etymology

From Old Turkic 𐰆𐰣 ‎(on, “ten”), from Proto-Turkic *ōn ‎(“ten”).

Numeral

on

  1. (cardinal) ten

Basque

Adjective

on

  1. good
  2. useful, convenient

Catalan

Etymology

From Old Provençal [Term?] (compare Occitan ont), from Latin unde (compare French dont).

Pronunciation

  • (Balearic) IPA(key): /ˈon/
  • (Central) IPA(key): /ˈon/
  • (Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈon/

Adverb

on

  1. where

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

  • un (widely in free variation)
  • en (some western dialects)

Etymology

Ultimately from Old High German unde (unti), but native at most in south-eastern dialects. Otherwise adopted from (early modern) German und, replacing native en, from Old High German indi (whence also Luxembourgish an).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /on/

Conjunction

on

  1. and
    Salz on Päfer
    salt and pepper

Classical Nahuatl

Pronoun

on, ōn

  1. (demonstrative) that; those

Related terms

References

  • Michel Launey; Christopher Mackay (2011) An Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Amazon Kindle: Cambridge University Press, pages Loc 1408

Cornish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *ognos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷnos ‎(“lamb”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [oːn]

Noun

on m ‎(plural en)

  1. lamb

Crimean Tatar

Numeral

on

  1. (cardinal) ten

Czech

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɔn/

Pronoun

on m

  1. he (third person personal singular)

Declension

Related terms

See also

Dutch

Adverb

on

  1. rarely used as shorthand for oneven (odd), the prefix on- means not (corresponds to English un-)

Estonian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈon/

Verb

on

  1. third-person singular present indicative of olema
  2. third-person plural present indicative of olema

Finnish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈon/
  • Hyphenation: on

Verb

on

  1. Third-person singular indicative present form of olla.
    Se on tuolla.‎
    It is there.
    Se on ollut tuolla.‎
    It has been there.

Anagrams

French

Etymology

From Old French hom, om (nominative form), from the homō ‎(“human being”) (compare homme from the Old French oblique form home, from the Latin accusative form hominem). Its pronominal use is of Germanic origin. Compare Old English man ‎(“one, they, people”), reduced form of Old English mann ‎(“man, person”); German man ‎(“one, they, people”); Dutch men ‎(“one, they, people”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɔ̃/
  • Homophone: ont

Pronoun

on

  1. One, people, you, someone (an unspecified individual: indefinite personal pronoun).
    • 2003, Natasha St. Pier, L’instant d’après (album), Quand on cherche l’amour (song)
      Quand on cherche l'amour...‎
      When one searches for love...
    On ne peut pas pêcher ici‎
    You can’t fish here
  2. (informal) We
    On s’est amusés.‎
    We had fun.

Synonyms

Related terms

Descendants

  • Esperanto: oni

Anagrams

German Low German

Conjunction

on

  1. (in several dialects, including Low Prussian) Alternative form of un (and)
    Melk on Brot‎
    milk and bread

Ido

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /on/, /ɔn/

Pronoun

on

  1. apocopic form of onu; one, someone, they (indefinite personal pronoun)

Interlingua

Pronoun

on

  1. one (indefinite personal pronoun)

Japanese

Romanization

on

  1. rōmaji reading of おん

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English on, from Proto-Indo-European [Term?]. More at English on.

Pronunciation

Preposition

on

  1. in; on

Northern Sami

Adverb

on

  1. again

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ana

Preposition

on

  1. on, in, at, among

Adverb

on

  1. (with verbs of taking or depriving) from

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

See hom, om.

Pronoun

on

  1. one (gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun)

Descendants

  • French: on

Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɔn̪/

Pronoun

on ‎(plural: masculine personal oni, all others one)

  1. he (for animate nouns), it (for inanimate nouns)

Declension

Related terms

Pronoun

on m

  1. (obsolete) this (demonstrative)

Declension

See also

Romansch

Alternative forms

  • (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran) onn
  • (Puter) an

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Noun

on m (plural ons)

  1. (Sutsilvan, Vallader) year

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ôːn/

Pronoun

ȏn ‎(Cyrillic spelling о̑н)

  1. he

Declension

See also

Slovak

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-; inflected forms from Proto-Slavic *jь, from Proto-Indo-European *éy.

Pronoun

on

  1. he (third-person personal masculine singular pronoun)

Declension

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eno-

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɔ́n/
  • Tonal orthography: ȍn

Pronoun

òn

  1. he

Declension

Forms between parentheses indicate clitic forms; the main forms are used for emphasis.

See also

Swedish

Noun

on

  1. indefinite plural of o

Turkish

Turkish cardinal numbers
 <  9 10 11  > 
    Cardinal : on
    Ordinal : onuncu
    Distributive : onar
Turkish Wikipedia article on on

Etymology

From Old Turkic 𐰆𐰣 ‎(on, “ten”), from Proto-Turkic *ōn ‎(“ten”).

Numeral

on ‎(definite accusative onu, plural onlar)

  1. (cardinal) ten

Declension

Turkmen

Etymology

From Old Turkic 𐰆𐰣 ‎(on, “ten”), from Proto-Turkic *ōn ‎(“ten”).

Numeral

on

  1. (cardinal) ten

Venetian

Article

on m sg

  1. a, an

Usage notes

  • Variant of un

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowing from French on.

Pronoun

on

  1. it
  2. (obsolete, indefinite personal pronoun) one

Declension

Walloon

Alternative forms

Numeral

on

  1. (cardinal) one

Etymology

From Middle English on, from Old English on, an ‎(“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-Germanic *ana ‎(“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-. Cognate with North Frisian a ‎(“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an ‎(“on, at”), West Frisian oan ‎(“on, at”), Dutch aan ‎(“on, at, to”), Low German an ‎(“on, at”), German an ‎(“to, at, on”), Swedish å ‎(“on, at, in”), Faroese á ‎(“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á ‎(“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 ‎(ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά ‎(aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në ‎(“in”); and from the Old Norse combination upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, see upon.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /on/

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