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."
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