on
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: ŏn
ipa: /ɒn/
note: Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore
ipa: /ɔn/
ipa: /ɔʊn/
enpr: än
ipa: /ɑn/
ipa: [ɒːn ~ ɔːn]
ipa: /ɒn/
note: Dublin
ipa: /än/
homophone: awn stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn
rhymes: -ɒn
rhymes: -ɔːn
Etymology: 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.
Senses: examples: text: All the lights are on, so they must be home.
antonyms: off
glosses: In the state of being active, functioning or operating.
examples: text: We had to ration our food because there was a war on.
text: Some of the cast went down with flu, but the show's still on.
text: That TV programme that you wanted to watch is on now.
text: This is her last song. You're on next!
text: Are we still on for tonight?
text: Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now.
text: England need a hundred runs, with twenty-five overs remaining. Game on!
glosses: Happening; taking place; being or due to be put into action.
examples: text: "Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!"
text: If he wants a fight, he's on!
glosses: Happening; taking place; being or due to be put into action.
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).
examples: text: Your feet will soon warm up once your socks are on.
text: I was trying to drink out of the bottle while the top was still on!
glosses: Fitted; covering or being worn.
examples: text: The photograph shows the UFO side on.
text: edge on, side on, end on, face on
glosses: Of a stated part of something, oriented towards the viewer or other specified direction.
examples: text: It's not fair to do that – it's just not on.
text: This kind of over-packaging of goods is completely not on.
ref: 1998 May 22, Phoenix Gamma, “If I was owned Nintendo...”, in alt.games.video.nintendo-64 (Usenet):
text: so Simon Nelson saying on Feedback "we'd prefer it if everybody listened to digital radio via DAB" is completely not on at all.
ref: 2003 August 12, DAB sounds worse than FM, “Gerg Dyke's Speech at Radio Festival”, in alt.radio.digital (Usenet):
glosses: Acceptable, appropriate.
raw_tags: in the negative
examples: text: Climbing up that steep ridge isn't on. We'll have to find another route.
text: He'd like to play the red next to the black spot, but that shot isn't on.
glosses: Possible; capable of being successfully carried out.
raw_tags: in the negative
examples: text: Smith is 25 points ahead with only 23 on.
glosses: Available; remaining.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2019 February 24, Chris Kennedy, “Aggies Earn Series Win Over Yale in Sunday Finale”, in New Mexico State University Athletics:
text: 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.
ref: 2019 April 6, Daniel Martinez-Krams, “Baseball Falls Short in Game 2 of UCLA Series”, in The Stanford Daily:
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
examples: text: The captain moved two fielders to the on side.
text: Ponsonby-Smythe hit a thumping on drive.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
synonyms: leg
antonyms: off
glosses: Within the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman.
examples: text: If the player fails to hit the ball on, it's a foul.
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
snooker
sports
glosses: Of a ball, being the next in sequence to be potted, according to the rules of the game.
topics: acting
broadcasting
drama
dramaturgy
entertainment
film
lifestyle
media
television
theater
qualifier: roleplaying games
glosses: Acting in character.
examples: text: He always has to be on, it's so exhausting.
glosses: Performative or funny in a wearying manner.
raw_tags: of a person
examples: text: It still gets in the way of her doing things like swimming, and she avoids sleepovers when she's "on".
ref: 2011, Hollie Smith Netmums, You and Your Tween: Managing the years from 9 to 13, Hachette, →ISBN:
glosses: Menstruating.
Synonyms: sense: baseball: positioned at a base
english: not informal
translation: not informal
word: on base