On

• POS: Adjective, Noun, Preposition, Adverb

CIDE DICTIONARY

On, prep. [OE. on, an, o, a, AS. on, an; akin to D. aan, OS. & G. an, OHG. ana, Icel. ā, Sw. ana, Russ. na, L. an-, in anhelare to pant, Gr. 'ana`, Zend ana. A-, 1, Ana-, Anon.].

•  The general signification of on is situation, motion, or condition with respect to contact or support beneath  [1913 Webster]

  "I stood on the bridge at midnight."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  At or in the time of; during; as, on Sunday we abstain from labor. See At (synonym).  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  Toward; for; -- indicating the object of some passion; as, have pity or compassion on him.  [1913 Webster]
•  At the peril of, or for the safety of.  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "His blood be on us and on our children."  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  In reference or relation to; as, on our part expect punctuality; a satire on society.  [1913 Webster]

  " Instances of this usage are common in our older writers, and are sometimes now heard in illiterate speech."  [1913 Webster]

  "Or have we eaten on the insane root
  That takes the reason prisoner?"  [1913 Webster]
•  Of.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  " 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."  [1913 Webster]
•  In the service of; connected with; a member of; as, he is on a newspaper; on a committee.  [1913 Webster]

  "They have added the -en plural form on to an elder plural."  [1913 Webster]

  "We see the strength of the new movement in the new class of ecclesiastics whom it forced on to the stage."  [1913 Webster]
•  In reference to; about; concerning; as, to think on it; to meditate on it.  [PJC]

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.

On, adv. [See On, prep.].

•  Forward, in progression; onward; -- usually with a verb of motion; as, move on; go on; the beat goes on.  Macaulay.  [1913 Webster]

  "The path is smooth that leadeth on to danger."  [1913 Webster]
•  Forward, in succession; as, from father to son, from the son to the grandson, and so on.  [1913 Webster]
•  In continuance; without interruption or ceasing; as, sleep on, take your ease; say on; sing on.  [1913 Webster]
•  Adhering; not off; as in the phrase, “He is neither on nor off,” that is, he is not steady, he is irresolute.  [1913 Webster]
•  Attached to the body, as clothing or ornament, or for use.  B. Gonson.  [1913 Webster]

  "He put on righteousness as a breastplate."  [1913 Webster]
•  In progress; proceeding; ongoing; as, a game is on.  [1913 Webster]

  " 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."  [1913 Webster]

On and on, continuously; for a long time together. “Toiling on and on and on.” Longfellow.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

On, prep., adv., adj., & n.
--prep.
1 (so as to be) supported by or attached to or covering or enclosing (sat on a chair; stuck on the wall; rings on her fingers; leaned on his elbow).
2 carried with; about the person of (have you a pen on you?).
3 (of time) exactly at; during; contemporaneously with (on 29 May; on the hour; on schedule; working on Tuesday).
4 immediately after or before (I saw them on my return).
5 as a result of (on further examination I found this).
6 (so as to be) having membership etc. of or residence at or in (she is on the board of directors; lives on the continent).
7 supported financially by (lives on {pound}50 a week; lives on his wits).
8 close to; just by (a house on the sea; lives on the main road).
9 in the direction of; against.
10 so as to threaten; touching or striking (advanced on him; pulled a knife on me; a punch on the nose).
11 having as an axis or pivot (turned on his heels).
12 having as a basis or motive (works on a ratchet; arrested on suspicion).
13 having as a standard, confirmation, or guarantee (had it on good authority; did it on purpose; I promise on my word).
14 concerning or about (writes on frogs).
15 using or engaged with (is on the pill; here on business).
16 so as to affect (walked out on her).
17 at the expense of (the drinks are on me; the joke is on him).
18 added to (disaster on disaster; ten pence on a pint of beer).
19 in a specified manner or style (often foll. by the + adj. or noun: on the cheap; on the run).
--adv.
1 (so as to be) covering or in contact with something, esp. of clothes (put your boots on).
2 in the appropriate direction; towards something (look on).
3 further forward; in an advanced position or state (time is getting on; it happened later on).
4 with continued movement or action (went plodding on; keeps on complaining).
5 in operation or activity (the light is on; the chase was on).
6 due to take place as planned (is the party still on?).
7 colloq. a (of a person) willing to participate or approve, or make a bet. b (of an idea, proposal, etc.) practicable or acceptable (that's just not on).
8 being shown or performed (a good film on tonight).
9 (of an actor) on stage.
10 (of an employee) on duty.
11 forward (head on).
--adj. Cricket designating the part of the field on the striker's side and in front of the wicket.
--n. Cricket the on side.

Idiom

be on about refer to or discuss esp. tediously or persistently (what are they on about?). be on at colloq. nag or grumble at. be on to
1 realize the significance or intentions of.
2 get in touch with (esp. by telephone). on and off intermittently; now and then. on and on continually; at tedious length. on-line Computing (of equipment or a process) directly controlled by or connected to a central processor.
on-off
1 (of a switch) having two positions, 'on' and 'off'.
2 = on and off. on-stage adj. & adv. on the stage; visible to the audience. on-street (with ref. to parking vehicles) at the side of a street. on time punctual, punctually. on to to a position or state on or in contact with (cf. ONTO).

Etymology

OE on, an f. Gmc

THESAURUS

On

about, above, accidental, accompanying, across, ado, afloat, afoot, after which, against, ahead, along, among, anent, apropos of, as for, as regards, as respects, as to, astraddle, astride, at, atop, by, by dint of, by means of, by use of, by virtue of, by way of, circumstantial, concerning, current, doing, en route to, eventuating, for, forth, forward, forwards, from, going on, happening, headed for, hereby, hereinafter, herewith, horseback, in, in connection with, in contact with, in hand, in passage to, in point of, in re, in reference to, in regard to, in relation to, in relation with, in respect to, in the wind, in transit to, in virtue of, incidental, near, next to, occasional, occurring, of, on foot, on horseback, on route to, on top of, ongoing, onward, onwards, opposite, over, over against, passing, per, pertaining to, pertinent to, prevailing, prevalent, re, referring to, regarding, relating to, relative to, respecting, resultant, speaking of, straddle, straddle-legged, straddleback, taking place, thanks to, thereby, therewith, through, to, touching, toward, towards, under way, up, up against, upon, upon which, versus, vis-a-vis, whereat, whereby, wherefore, whereon, whereto, whereunto, whereupon, wherewith, wherewithal, with, with regard to, with respect to

ROGET THESAURUS

On

Duty

VB be the duty of, be incumbent, on, be responsible, behoove, become, befit, beseem, belong to, pertain to, fall to one's lot, devolve on, lie upon, lie on one's head, lie at one's door, rest with, rest on the shoulders of, take upon oneself, be bound to, become bound to, be sponsor for, become sponsor for, incur a responsibility, be under an obligation, stand under an obligation, lie under an obligation, have to answer for, owe to it oneself, impose a duty enjoin, require, exact, bind, bind over, saddle with, prescribe, assign, call upon, look to, oblige, enter upon a duty, perform a duty, observe a duty, fulfill a duty, discharge a duty, adhere to a duty, acquit oneself of a duty, satisfy a duty, enter upon an obligation, perform an obligation, observe an obligation, fulfill an obligation, discharge an obligation, adhere to an obligation, acquit oneself of an obligation, satisfy an obligation, act one's part, redeem one's pledge, do justice to, be at one's post, do duty, do one's duty, be on one's good behavior, mind one's P's and Q's.

Progression

N progress, progression, progressiveness, advancing, advance, advancement, ongoing, flood, tide, headway, march, rise, improvement, advancing, progressive, profluent, advanced, forward, onward, forth, on, ahead, under way, en route for, on one's way, on the way, on the road, on the high road, on the road to, in progress, in mid progress, in transitu, vestigia nulla retrorsum, westward the course of empire takes its way.