on

All the lights are on, so they must be home.

In the state of being active, functioning or operating.

We had to ration our food because there was a war on.

Some of the cast went down with flu, but the show's still on.

That TV programme that you wanted to watch is on now.

This is her last song. You're on next!

Are we still on for tonight?

Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now.

England need a hundred runs, with twenty-five overs remaining. Game on!

Happening; taking place; being or due to be put into action.

"Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!"

If he wants a fight, he's on!

(informal) Of a person, used to express agreement to or acceptance of a proposal or challenge made by that person; most commonly with subject "you" (see you're on).

Your feet will soon warm up once your socks are on.

I was trying to drink out of the bottle while the top was still on!

The photograph shows the UFO side on.

edge on, side on, end on, face on

(postpositive) Of a stated part of something, oriented towards the viewer or other specified direction.

You can't do that; it's just not on.

This kind of over-packaging of goods is completely not on.

1998 May 22, Phoenix Gamma, “If I was owned Nintendo...”, in alt.games.video.nintendo-64 (Usenet):

so Simon Nelson saying on Feedback "we'd prefer it if everybody listened to digital radio via DAB" is completely not on at all.

2003 August 12, DAB sounds worse than FM, “Gerg Dyke's Speech at Radio Festival”, in alt.radio.digital (Usenet):

(chiefly UK, informal, usually negative) Acceptable, appropriate.

He'd like to play the red next to the black spot, but that shot isn't on.

(often negative) Possible; capable of being successfully carried out.

With one out and no men on, Tristen Carranza belted a ball to the opposite field for a solo home run to put the NM State deficit at just 2-1.

2019 February 24, Chris Kennedy, “Aggies Earn Series Win Over Yale in Sunday Finale”, in New Mexico State University Athletics:

Although Stanford was outhit 15-6, the Cardinal stranded eight runners to UCLA's three, hitting just 3-15 with runners on compared to the Bruin's 9-22.

2019 April 6, Daniel Martinez-Krams, “Baseball Falls Short in Game 2 of UCLA Series”, in The Stanford Daily:

(baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.

The captain moved two fielders to the on side.

Ponsonby-Smythe hit a thumping on drive.

(cricket) Within the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman.

If the player fails to hit the ball on, it's a foul.

(snooker, postpositive) Of a ball, being the next in sequence to be potted, according to the rules of the game.

(acting, drama, roleplaying games) Acting in character.

He always has to be on, it's so exhausting.

(informal, of a person) Performative or funny in a wearying manner.

It still gets in the way of her doing things like swimming, and she avoids sleepovers when she's "on".

2011, Hollie Smith Netmums, You and Your Tween: Managing the years from 9 to 13, Hachette, →ISBN:

միացրած

in the state of being active, functioning or operating

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *ana
Old English on
Middle English on
English on
From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-.
Cognate with North Frisian a (“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an (“on, at”), West Frisian oan (“on, at”), Dutch aan (“on, at, to”), Low German an (“on, at”), German an (“to, at, on”), Swedish å (“on, at, in”), Faroese á (“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á (“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në (“in”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, see upon.

etymon

Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore


on

turn the television on

The lid wasn't screwed on properly.

Put on your hat and gloves.

drive on, rock on

He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on, with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.

2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:

and so on

He rambled on and on.

Ten years on, nothing had changed in the village.

That horse is twenty-to-one on, so you need to stake twenty pounds just to win one pound.

Of betting odds, denoting a better-than-even chance. See also odds-on.

off

antonym(s) of “active, functioning, operating”

on-puolella

cricket: in, or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs


on

A vase of flowers stood on the table.

Please lie down on the couch.

The parrot was sitting on Jim's shoulder.

I stood on the bridge at midnight.

1845, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Bridge:

Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.

He had a scar on the side of his face.

There is a dirty smudge on this window.

The painting hangs on the wall.

The fruit ripened on the trees.

Positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to.

He wore old shoes on his feet.

Indicating position or location.
Covering.

The lighthouse that you can see is on the mainland.

The suspect is thought to still be on the campus.

At or in (a geographical location or position).

We live on the edge of the city.

on the left, on the right, on the side, on the bottom

Indicating position or location.
At (a relative spatial position).

The fleet is on the American coast.

Croton-on-Hudson, Rostov-on-Don, Southend-on-Sea

Indicating position or location.
Near; adjacent to; alongside; just off.

on a bus, on a train, on a plane, on a ferry, on a yacht

on a bicycle, on a motorbike, on a horse, on a scooter

Aboard (a mode of transport, especially public transport, or transport that one sits astride or uses while standing).

All of the responsibility is on him.

I put a bet on the winning horse.

Expressing figurative placement, burden, or attachment.

tug on the rope; push hard on the door

Denoting physical contact or interaction with an object, such as impact or application of force.

With verbs describing an action of pushing, pulling, pressing, etc., designates the thing to which force is applied.

I stubbed my toe on an old tree stump.

I caught my fingernail on the door handle.

The rope snagged on a branch.

With verbs describing an action of hitting, rubbing, scratching, binding against, etc., designates the thing impacted or contacted.

to play on a violin or piano

Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with.

A table can't stand on two legs.

After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels.

Supported by (the specified part of itself).

The Tories are on twenty-five percent in this constituency.

The blue team are on six points and the red team on five.

I'm on question four.

At (a certain position within a sequence).

Born on the 4th of July.

On Sunday I'm busy. I'll see you on Monday.

Can I see you on a different day?

Smith scored again on twelve minutes, doubling Mudchester Rovers' lead.

The Spain striker had given Chelsea the lead on 29 minutes but was shown a straight red card 10 minutes later for a rash challenge on Mark Gower.

2011 September 24, Aled Williams, “Chelsea 4-1 Swansea”, in BBC Sport:

(UK, especially in sports reporting) At (a given time after the start of something).

At (a given time after the start of something).

I was reading a book on history.

The city hosted the World Summit on the Information Society

I have no opinion on this subject.

[...] I received a note from that gentleman on a most trivial matter. I answered it as trivially.

1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Milborough as Ambassador”, in He Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […], →OCLC, page 85:

Dealing with the subject of; about; concerning.

I saw it on television.

Can't you see I'm on the phone?

My favorite shows are on BBC America.

The Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show is on YouTube.

The film was released on DVD.

They planned an attack on London.

The soldiers mutinied and turned their guns on their officers.

Her words made a lasting impression on my mind.

What will be the effect on morale?

Indicating the target of, or thing affected by, an event or action.

I haven't got any money on me.

to arrest someone on suspicion of bribery

to contact someone on a hunch

Because of; due to; upon the basis of (something not yet confirmed as true).

On Jack's entry, William got up to leave.

On the addition of ammonia, a chemical reaction begins.

(also often 'upon') At the time of (and often because of).

I need to get my planting done, as the season will soon be on us.

Before we knew it, the forest was on us, and the air grew colder and damper.

(also often 'upon') Arrived or coming into the presence of.

The drinks are on me tonight, boys.

The meal is on the house.

I paid for the airfare and meals for my family, but the hotel room was on the company.

Have pity or compassion on him.

Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.

'[…] the hunger is on me to carry my sword in distant places.' Mynyddog bowed his head.

2013 February 27, Rosemary Sutcliff, The Shining Company, Random House, →ISBN:

“Christ, the thirst on me.” “Sure, it's serious work, all that talk of independence.” The theater's stained-glass doors had first flung open in 1904, all in the hope of “rewriting the Irish identity,” of using culture in the fight[…]

2017 January 24, Ruth Gilligan, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, Tin House Books, →ISBN:

“I've got the hunger on me, I do.” Riordan snorted. Hardly a man knew hunger as he did. The prison rations at Point Lookout, spare enough, had been a feast compared to the black years in Ireland.[…]

2017 August 29, Ralph Peters, Judgment at Appomattox: A Novel, Forge Books, →ISBN, page 18:

(especially Ireland) Indicating the person experiencing an emotion, cold, thirst, hunger, etc.

They lived on ten dollars a week.

The dog survived three weeks on rainwater.

He's on his lunch break.

I'm on nights all this week.

on vacation; on holiday; on a mission; on the job; on the fiddle

Engaged in or occupied with (an action or activity).

You've been on these antidepressants far too long.

He's acting crazy because he's on crack right now.

Under the influence of (a drug, or something that is causing drug-like effects).

heaps on heaps of food

mischief on mischief; loss on loss

In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.

I depended on them for assistance.

He will promise on certain conditions.

He is on the jury; I am on the committee.

He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honour.

(informal, chiefly in set phrases) Ellipsis of I swear on: on my life, on God, on everything, etc.

On us be all the blame.

A curse on him!

Please don't tell on her and get her in trouble.

He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since.

He went all honest on me, making me listen to his confession.

His blood be on vs, and on our children.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:25:

To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.

The fight was three on one, and he never stood a chance.

(especially when numbers of combatants or competitors are specified) Against; in opposition to.

On naturalism, it is therefore difficult to find a ground for ultimate moral hope.

2021, Gavin Ortlund, Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't: The Beauty of Christian Theism, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, →ISBN:

(philosophy, logic) According to, from the standpoint of; expressing what must follow, whether accepted or not, if a given premise or system is assumed true.

All the way around the table, off four cushions, and ... and he's on the black!

(snooker) In a position of being able to pot (a given ball).

In a position of being able to pot (a given ball).

a function on #x5C;mathbb#x7B;R#x7D;

(mathematics) Having as identical domain and codomain.

Having as identical domain and codomain.

an operator on #x5C;mathbb#x7B;Z#x7D;

(mathematics) Having Vⁿ as domain and V as codomain, for the specified set V and some integer n.

the free group on four letters

Twenty on three.

I never seen 'im, and that's the truth on it.

Be not jealous on me.

1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

Or have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

Hence on thy life: the captive maid is mine; / Whom not for price or pray'rs I will reſign: [...]

a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 415:

(obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.

عَلَى

positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to

(the definite article is used before the time period)

mathematics: having V as both domain and codomain

mathematics: having Vn as domain and V as codomain

с

с меня, с тебя...


on

Can you on the light?

(Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Nigeria, transitive, colloquial) To switch on.

en-verb

on (third-person singular simple present ons, present participle oning or onning, simple past and past participle oned or onned)

ons (present singular third-person)
oning (participle present)
onning (participle present)
oned (participle past)
oned (past)
onned (participle past)
onned (past)


on

From Old Norse ón, án (“without”), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēno, *ino (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḗnu (“without”). Cognate with North Frisian on (“without”), Middle Dutch an, on (“without”), Middle Low German āne (“without”), German ohne (“without”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌿 (inu, “without, except”).
Unlikely to be related to Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, “without”), which likely akin to Proto-Germanic *sundraz instead (whence sunder).


on

Most kanji have two kinds of reading, called "on" and "kun".

In the Japanese language, a pronunciation, or reading, of a kanji character that was originally based on the character's pronunciation in Chinese, contrasted with kun.

From Japanese 音読み (on'yomi, literally “sound reading”).