on

on [än, ôn]

prep.

[ME < OE on, an, akin to Ger an, Goth ana, ON ā < IE base * an, *anō, prob. meaning “obliquely toward, slanting toward” > Gr ana]

1. in a position above, but in contact with and supported by; upon

2. in contact with (any surface); covering or attached to

3. so as to be supported by [leaning on his elbow]

4. in the surface of [a scar on the body]

5.

a) near to; by [a cottage on the lake, seated on my right]

b) having as its location [a house on Main Street]

c) assigned to work at or in [on the maternity ward, on the switchboard]

6. at or during the time of [on entering, on the first day]

7. having a basis of or having its ground in (something specified) [based on her diary, on purpose]

8. connected with as a part or member [on the faculty]

9. engaged in [on a trip]

10. in the state or condition of [on parole, on fire]

11. in a (specified) manner: chiefly archaic except in phrases with the [on the sly]

12. as a result of [a profit on the sale]

13. in the direction or vicinity of [light shone on us]

14. so as to affect [to put a curse on someone]

15. regularly following (a regimen), ingesting (medicine), etc., as to promote good health [on a diet, on penicillin]

16.

a) through the means or use of [to live on bread, running on diesel fuel]

b) through the medium of [on the phone, to act on TV]

c) using for transportation [on a train]

17. with regard to; concerning [an essay on war]

18. coming after: used to indicate repetition [we suffered insult on insult]

19. placing obligation or responsibility with [rely on me; the onus is on him]

20. onto [just throw it on the porch ]

☆ 21. chargeable to; at the expense of [have a drink on the house; lunch is on me]

22. in jazz, popular music, etc.,

a) playing [Jim is on guitar]

b) IN¹ (prep. 7a) [he played on the Basie band ]

☆ 23. Informal habitually using; addicted to [to be on drugs]

24. Informal carried by [I have no money on me]

25. Informal constantly nagging at, finding fault with, etc. [the boss has been on him all day]

26.

a) used variously for OF¹, AT¹, ABOUT, FOR¹, IN¹

b) Brit. IN¹ (prep. 1, 7a, 11)

c) Chiefly Northeast IN¹ (prep. 13) [waiting on line at the bank]

adv.

1. in or into a situation or position of contacting, being supported by, or covering [put your shoes on]

2. in a direction to or toward [he looked on]

3.

a) in advance; forward; ahead [move on]

b) Brit. along in time; later; after [thirty years on, nothing had changed]

4. lastingly; continuously [she sang on]

5. into operation, performance, or action [switch on the light]

6. Baseball on base

7. Theater on stage

adj.

1. in action, operation, or occurrence [the TV is on]

2. near or nearer

3. arranged or planned for [tomorrow's game is still on]

4. Slang performing or functioning at a high level of competence [he was really on in last night's game]

5. Cricket designating that side of the field, or of the wicket, where the batsman stands

n.

1. the fact or state of being on

2. Cricket the on side

——————

and so on

and more like the preceding; and so forth

——————

☆ have nothing on someone or have something on someone

Informal to have some (or no) unfavorable evidence against someone

——————

on and off

not continuously; intermittently

——————

on and on

continuously; at great length

——————

☆ on to

Slang aware of or familiar with, esp. aware of the real nature or meaning of