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On   /ɑn/  /ɔn/   Listen
preposition
On  prep.  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."
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."
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.
6.
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.
7.
At or in the time of; during; as, on Sunday we abstain from labor. See At (synonym).
8.
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.
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."
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."
13.
In reference or relation to; as, on our part expect punctuality; a satire on society.
14.
Of. (Obs.) "Be not jealous on me." "Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner?" Note: Instances of this usage are common in our older writers, and are sometimes now heard in illiterate speech.
15.
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.
16.
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.
17.
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.)
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." "We see the strength of the new movement in the new class of ecclesiastics whom it forced on to the stage."


adverb
On  adv.  
1.
Forward, in progression; onward; usually with a verb of motion; as, move on; go on; the beat goes on. "Time glides on." "The path is smooth that leadeth on to danger."
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." "He put on righteousness as a breastplate."
6.
In progress; proceeding; ongoing; as, a game is on. Note: 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."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"On" Quotes from Famous Books



... have spent one of the most delightful of summers notwithstanding the heat, and I begin to comprehend the possibility of St. Lawrence's ecstasies on the gridiron. Very hot certainly it has been and is, yet there have been cool intermissions, and as we have spacious and airy rooms, as Robert lets me sit all day in my white dressing-gown without a single masculine criticism, and as we can step out of the window ...
— Life and Letters of Robert Browning • Mrs. Sutherland Orr
... servitude shall exist would by implication confer the power. He also shows conclusively that, under the Thirteenth Amendment, Congress has the right by appropriate legislation to protect the colored people against the deprivation of any right on account of their race, and that Congress is not necessarily restricted, under the Thirteenth Amendment, to legislation against slavery as an institution, but that power may be exerted to the extent of protecting the race ...
— The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Volume VIII. - Interviews • Robert Green Ingersoll
... from the facts before us seem to be in general these. The link between government and governed in Italy had snapped. The social bond was broken, and the constituents that form a nation were pursuing divers aims. On the one hand stood Popes and princes, founding their claims to absolute authority upon titles that had slight rational or national validity. These potentates were ill-combined among themselves, and mutually jealous. On the other side were ranged disruptive forces of the most heterogeneous ...
— Renaissance in Italy, Volumes 1 and 2 - The Catholic Reaction • John Addington Symonds
... child! he was born sickly. Hera had already given us more sons than we could provide for, ere our lands were increased by the death of thy childless relatives. Wife, wife! when the family council ordained him to be exposed on Taygetus, when thou didst hide thyself lest thy tears should be seen, and my voice trembled as I said 'Be the laws obeyed,' who could have guessed that the gods would yet preserve him to be the pride of our house? Blessed be Zeus the saviour and ...
— Pausanias, the Spartan - The Haunted and the Haunters, An Unfinished Historical Romance • Lord Lytton
... these histories almost endlessly. In some cases I have cured without fattening; in others, though rarely, the mental habits formed through years of illness have been too deeply ingrained for change, and I have seen the patient get up fat and well only to relapse on some ...
— Fat and Blood - An Essay on the Treatment of Certain Forms of Neurasthenia and Hysteria • S. Weir Mitchell


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