upon
Language: English
Part of speech: prep
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈpɒn/
ipa: /əˈpɑn/
ipa: /əˈpɔn/
rhymes: -ɒn
Forms: form: uppon
form: vpon
form: vppon
Etymology: From Middle English upon, uppon, uppen, from Old English upon, uppon, uppan (“on, upon, up to, against, after, in addition to”), equivalent to up (“adverb”) + on (“preposition”). Cognate with Old Saxon uppan (“upon”), Old High German ūfan, ūffan (“upon”), Icelandic upp á, upp á (“up on, upon”), Swedish uppå (“up on, upon”) (thence Swedish på), Danish på (“up on, upon”), Norwegian på (“up on, upon”).
Senses: examples: text: A vase of flowers stood upon the table. — The painting hangs upon the wall. — All of the responsibility is upon him. — She plays upon a violin (or piano). — The lighthouse that you can see is upon the mainland. — He rested upon his elbows. — Tug upon the rope; push hard upon the door! — I stubbed my toe upon an old tree stump. — He wore old shoes upon his feet. — Born upon the 4th of July. — I have no opinion upon this subject. — They proceeded to arrest someone upon suspicion of bribery. — Upon Jack's entry, William got up to leave. — Before we knew it, the forest was upon us, and the air grew colder and damper. — What will be the effect upon morale? — Have pity or compassion upon him. — They lived upon ten dollars a week. — We ate heaps upon heaps of food. — I depended upon them for assistance. — He affirmed or promised upon his word. — Upon my life, I am innocent. — A curse upon him!
text: Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …
ref: 1899, Hughes Mearns, Antigonish:
text: No news of them? Why, so: and I know not what's spend in the search: why thou loss upon loss! the thief gone with so much, and so much to find the thief; and no satisfaction, no revenge: nor no ill luck stirring but what lights on my shoulders; no sighs but of my breathing; no tears but of my shedding.
ref: c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
text: The drums play on
The year of the dog is upon us.
ref: 2023, Patricia Taxxon, “DEDGDEDCEGEOGCGHCOCTOHOTHTHT”, in TECHDOG:
text: Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
text: Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence.
ref: 1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter I (Anarchy), page 373, column 2:
text: But as they were upon going forth, a trumpet was sounded without, three strident blasts.
ref: 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 7:
glosses: A higher-register or more formal alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses.
Derived terms: act upon
allot upon
Barrow upon Humber
Barrow upon Soar
Barrow upon Trent
Barton upon Humber
Barton upon Irwell
base upon
bear upon
begin upon
Berwick-upon-Tweed
blow upon
Bolton upon Dearne
break a butterfly upon a wheel
break a butterfly upon the wheel
break a fly upon a wheel
break a fly upon the wheel
break upon the wheel
breathe upon
bring upon
build upon
Burton upon Stather
Burton upon Trent
butterfly upon a wheel
call upon
carry one's heart upon one's sleeve
cast one's bread upon the waters
chance upon
city upon a hill
Clifton-upon-Dunsmore
Clifton upon Teme
close in upon
come upon
come upon the parish
come upon the town
condescend upon
count upon
dance upon nothing
dawn upon
decide upon
descend upon
down upon one's luck
draw upon
dwell upon
fall back upon
fall out upon
fall upon
fall upon someone's neck
fix upon
fly upon
frown upon
gain upon
hang upon
happen upon
have one's heart set upon
hereupon
hinge upon
hit upon
improve upon
jump upon
keep one's head upon one's shoulders
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston-upon-Thames
Kingston upon Thames
land upon
lay hold upon
lie upon
light upon
look down upon
look upon
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
once upon a time
out upon
peace be upon her
peace be upon him
pig upon bacon
pig upon pork
piss be upon him
pitch upon
play upon
play upon words
'pon
prevail upon
prey upon
put a slight upon
put one's foot down upon
put-upon
put upon
rain death upon
reckon upon
reflect upon
rely upon
remark upon
Richmond upon Thames
round upon
run upon sorts
seize upon
set fire upon
set one's heart upon
settle upon
set upon
shame upon me
shame upon you
shed light upon
shine down upon
shit upon
Singapore-upon-Thames
sit upon
sit-upon
stack-upon-the-kill
stand upon one's dignity
stand upon one's terms
stand upon points
Stanton upon Hine Heath
Stoke upon Tern
Stratford-upon-Avon
stumble upon
swear upon
sweet upon
take it upon oneself
take upon oneself
thereupon
touch upon
tread upon
turn upon
two upon ten
upon a sixpence
upon a stound
upon a sudden
upon a time
upon my sivvy
upon my soul
upon my word
upon one's legs
upon one's speed
upon pain of
upon reflection
upon the back of
upon the books
upon the by
upon the carpet
upon the heels of
upon the instant
upon the matter
upon the pad
upon the point of
upon the square
upon the strength of
upon the tapis
upon the whole
upon the whole matter
upon the wing
wait upon
wait upon hand and foot
Wath upon Dearne
wear one's heart upon one's sleeve
whereupon
wish upon a star