# on

Pronunciation: say "ON" US /ɑn/, UK/AUS /ɒn/

## Preposition

1. Touching, resting on, supported by or attached to the surface of something, including covering it or being worn over it.
   - Simple: Touching the top or outside of something, or fixed to it, as in on the table or on the wall.
   - _There's a fly on the ceiling._
   - _The number is printed on the back of the card._
2. At or during a particular day or date, but not a month or year.
   - Simple: Used with days and dates to say when, as in 'on Monday'.
   - _The shop is closed on public holidays._
   - _They married on a rainy Saturday in June._
3. At or in a particular place or position, such as an island, a street, or one side or edge of something.
   - Simple: In or at a place or position, as in on the island, on Main Street or on the left.
   - _They have a cottage on the island._
   - _The bank is on Main Street, next to the post office._
4. About, concerning, or dealing with the subject of.
   - Simple: Used to say what subject something is about.
   - _She wrote her thesis on medieval trade._
   - _The committee will report on the findings next week._
5. Indicating the means or medium by which something is done or communicated.
   - Simple: Using or through a medium such as TV, the phone, or the internet.
   - _The interview will be on the radio at eight._
   - _She found the recipe on a cooking website._
6. Indicating the person or thing that an action, effect or burden is directed at or falls on.
   - Simple: Used to show who or what is affected by something, as in a tax on fuel or pressure on the team.
   - _The new rules put a limit on overtime._
   - _Her words made a lasting impression on me._
7. Indicating dependence or reliance upon someone or something.
   - Simple: Used to show who or what someone or something depends on.
   - _You can always count on Maria._
   - _The whole plan rests on getting the loan._
8. Engaged in or occupied with an action, activity, or duty.
   - Simple: Taking part in a particular activity or duty at the time.
   - _The nurses are on strike until Friday._
   - _She's away on business till the weekend._
16. Aboard a means of transport, especially public transport or one you sit astride or stand on, such as a bike.
   - Simple: Aboard a bus, train, plane, or bike, as a passenger or rider.
   - _I read the whole novel on the plane._
   - _He came to the wedding on a motorbike._
10. Serving as a member of a group or body.
   - Simple: Serving as a member of a group such as a jury, board, or team.
   - _She has been on the school board for a decade._
   - _Two doctors are on the panel._
11. At a particular value, level or score, as in a poll or a points table. *(UK)*
   - Simple: At a certain number, score or level.
   - _The champions are on 70 points with three games left to play._
   - _The Greens were on twelve percent in the final poll before the election._
12. At the time of an event, and often because of it.
   - Simple: At the moment when something happens, often as its result, as in 'on arrival'.
   - _Payment is due on delivery._
   - _On seeing the police, the crowd scattered._
13. Near, adjacent to, or alongside something such as a river, road, or coast.
   - Simple: Beside or next to a coast, river, or road, as in 'a town on the Thames'.
   - _The hotel is right on the lake._
   - _Villages on the border changed hands twice._
19. Taking a medicine or drug, either regularly as a course or at a particular time, or under its effects.
   - Simple: Taking a medicine or drug, or feeling its effects.
   - _Are you on any medication at the moment?_
   - _She's been on the same inhaler for years._
20. Used before a food, a sum of money or another resource to show what someone lives or keeps going on.
   - Simple: Used to say what food or money keeps someone alive or going.
   - _Many retirees get by on a small pension._
   - _The climbers kept going on chocolate and dried fruit until they reached the hut._
21. Used to name the part of someone or something that is holding it up.
   - Simple: Used to show which part of a body or thing holds it up.
   - _The old chair wobbles because it stands on three good legs and one cracked one._
   - _She did push-ups on her knees until her arms got stronger._
23. Because of, or by reason of, especially something not yet confirmed.
   - Simple: Because of, or on the basis of, something not yet proved, as in 'on suspicion of'.
   - _She refused on principle._
   - _The police searched the house on a tip-off._
24. In the possession of someone; carried about one's person. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Carried with you, in your pockets, as in 'I have no money on me'.
   - _Sorry, I don't have my card on me._
   - _The guard found a phone on the prisoner._
25. Marking the person or thing toward which a feeling is directed.
   - Simple: Toward, of a feeling directed at someone, as in 'have pity on him'.
   - _The old man doted on his youngest daughter._
   - _Lord, have mercy on us._
27. Indicating that something is added to something else or follows it in a series.
   - Simple: Piled on, one after another, as in 'loss on loss'.
   - _Blow on blow fell on the gate until it splintered._
   - _Layer on layer of paint had built up over the years._
28. Having reached a particular point in a series or sequence.
   - Simple: At a certain point in a series of steps, as in 'I'm on question four'.
   - _The runners are on their final lap._
   - _What page are you on?_
29. At a precise instant, or at the point just before something happens.
   - Simple: At an exact moment or just before it, as in 'on the stroke of midnight'.
   - _The train left on the dot of nine._
   - _The company is on the brink of collapse._
31. Paid for by, or at the expense of, someone.
   - Simple: Paid for by someone, as in 'the drinks are on me'.
   - _Put it on my tab, this round is on me._
   - _The taxi was on expenses._
33. Used to name what backs a promise or claim, such as one's word or honor, either as its pledge or its authority.
   - Simple: Used to say what you promise by, like your word or your honor.
   - _The mayor promised on his honor to resign if the audit found any fraud._
   - _The neighbors lent him the money on his word alone._
34. Used to show that someone or something appears among the entries of a list, schedule, agenda, or menu.
   - Simple: Used to say that a name or thing is part of a list, menu, plan, or schedule.
   - _The budget is the first item on the agenda for Monday's meeting._
   - _Two of the songs on tonight's program were written by local students._
35. Used before certain nouns, such as fire, sale, display, or loan, to describe the state or condition someone or something is in.
   - Simple: Used before some words, like "fire," "sale," "display," or "loan," to say what state something is in.
   - _The painting is on loan from a museum in Madrid until next spring._
   - _Her old sketchbooks are now on display in the library's front hall._
36. In opposition to, especially when stating how many fighters or competitors are on each side.
   - Simple: Against, used mostly when saying how many people are on each side, as in "two on two."
   - _The fight in the alley was three on one, so he never stood a chance._
   - _The last drill was full-court, five on five, with the starters facing the bench._

## Adjective

14. Of a machine, light, tap, or supply, active, functioning, or operating.
   - Simple: Working, switched on, running, the opposite of 'off'.
   - _The engine was still on when we found the car._
   - _Leave the porch light on for me._
17. Fitted or in place, being worn, or covering something.
   - Simple: Worn or fitted in place, of clothes, lids, and covers.
   - _Make sure the cap is on before you shake the bottle._
   - _He still had his boots on in bed._
22. Taking place, or planned and going ahead as arranged.
   - Simple: Happening now, or still going to happen as planned.
   - _Despite the storm warnings, Saturday's match is still on._
   - _With a big sale on at the hardware store, the parking lot was full by nine._
26. Used of a person who has made a proposal or challenge, to say that it is accepted; the subject is most often you. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used to tell someone you accept their bet, idea or challenge, most often as "You're on!"
   - _"Loser buys lunch?" "You're on."_
   - _Tell your brother that if he still wants that chess game tonight, he's on._
32. Acceptable or appropriate, used mostly in the negative to object to something. *(colloquial, UK)*
   - Simple: OK or acceptable. People mostly use it with "not" to say something is wrong.
   - _Charging pensioners for a basic bus pass is simply not on._
   - _Leaving your rubbish on the train for someone else to clear up really isn't on._

## Adverb

15. Into an operating state; into action.
   - Simple: Into a working state, as in 'turn the television on'.
   - _The street lamps come on at dusk._
   - _Click the icon to turn the sound on._
9. Forward or onward, continuing an action or movement.
   - Simple: Forward, further along, or continuing, as in 'drive on' or 'from now on'.
   - _We rested for an hour and then pressed on._
   - _From that day on, she never missed a lesson._
18. So as to cover something or be fitted into place.
   - Simple: Into place, so as to cover or fit, as in 'put your hat on'.
   - _She pulled her boots on and went out._
   - _The handle was glued on, not screwed on, so it soon came loose._
30. Later, after a stated amount of time has gone by.
   - Simple: After a certain amount of time has passed.
   - _Five years on from the merger, the company has doubled in size._
   - _Decades on, people still argue about who really won that election._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Turned to face whoever is looking, or some stated way, as when an object is seen side on or end on.
- (adjective) Able to be done or pulled off successfully.
- (adjective) Still to be had or left over.
- (adjective) Of a baseball runner, safely at a base and waiting for the next batter to move them along.
- (adjective) In cricket, in the leg side half of the field, which lies to a right-handed batter's left.
- (adjective) Of a snooker ball, being one the rules allow a player to hit first or pot next.
- (adjective) Speaking and behaving as the character one is playing.
- (adjective) Behaving in a showy, attention-seeking or joking way that tires other people out.
- (adjective) Having a menstrual period.
- (adverb) Of betting odds, showing the outcome is more likely than not.
- (adverb) Of a snooker ball, into a spot from which it can be potted.
- (preposition) Toward a stated part of a ship, within 45 degrees of it, as in 'on the port bow'.
- (preposition) Used after verbs like push, pull or press to name the object receiving the force.
- (preposition) Used after verbs like hit, rub or scratch to name what is struck or touched.
- (preposition) At a stated point after something has started, as in 'scored on twenty minutes'.
- (preposition) Having come into someone's presence, or coming upon them.
- (preposition) Used to show who is feeling hunger, cold, thirst or an emotion, as in 'the hunger on him'.
- (preposition) Short for 'I swear on', as in 'on my life' or 'on God'.
- (preposition) Judged by a particular view or system, showing what would follow if it were assumed correct.
- (preposition) Of a snooker player, in a position to pot a particular ball.
- (preposition) Of a function, mapping a set into that same set, so its domain and codomain match.
- (preposition) Of an operation, taking n elements of a set V as inputs and returning an element of V.
- (preposition) Built up from a given set of generators, as in 'the free group on two letters'.
- (preposition) Used to express division, as in 'six on three'.
- (preposition) Used in place of 'of', as in 'a friend on mine'.
- (preposition) With something put at risk, or to keep it safe, as in 'on your life, don't open that door'.
- (verb) To make a light, machine or device start working.
- (noun) In Japanese, a way of pronouncing a kanji that derives from how the Chinese once said it, as opposed to the native kun reading.

## Origin

From Middle English "on", from Old English "on" or "an" ("on, upon, onto, into"), from Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic "*ana" ("on, at"), from Proto-Indo-European "*h₂en-". It is cognate with Dutch "aan", German "an", Swedish "å", and Ancient Greek "aná" ("up, upon").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/on (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).