Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • preposition Used to indicate position above and supported by or in contact with.
  • preposition Used to indicate contact with or extent over (a surface) regardless of position.
  • preposition Used to indicate location at or along.
  • preposition Used to indicate proximity.
  • preposition Used to indicate attachment to or suspension from.
  • preposition Used to indicate figurative or abstract position.
  • preposition Used to indicate actual motion toward, against, or onto.
  • preposition Used to indicate figurative or abstract motion toward, against, or onto.
  • preposition Used to indicate occurrence at a given time.
  • preposition Used to indicate the particular occasion or circumstance.
  • preposition Used to indicate the object affected by actual, perceptible action.
  • preposition Used to indicate the object affected by a figurative action.
  • preposition Used to indicate the object of an action directed, tending, or moving against it.
  • preposition Used to indicate the object of perception or thought.
  • preposition Used to indicate the agent or agency of a specified action.
  • preposition Used to indicate a medicine or other corrective taken or undertaken routinely.
  • preposition Used to indicate a substance that is the cause of an addiction, a habit, or an altered state of consciousness.
  • preposition Used to indicate a source or basis.
  • preposition Used to indicate a source of power or energy.
  • preposition Used to indicate the state or process of.
  • preposition Used to indicate the purpose of.
  • preposition Used to indicate a means of conveyance.
  • preposition Used to indicate availability by means of.
  • preposition Used to indicate belonging to.
  • preposition Used to indicate addition or repetition.
  • preposition Concerning; about.
  • preposition Concerning and to the disadvantage of.
  • preposition Informal In one's possession; with.
  • preposition At the expense of; compliments of.
  • adverb In or into a position or condition of being supported by or in contact with something.
  • adverb In or into a position of being attached to or covering something.
  • adverb In the direction of something.
  • adverb Toward or at a point lying ahead in space or time; forward.
  • adverb At or to a more distant point in time or space.
  • adverb Toward or to a different state or condition.
  • adverb In a continuous course.
  • adverb In or into performance or operation.
  • adverb In progress or action; in a state of activity.
  • adverb In or at the present position or condition.
  • adverb In a condition of being scheduled for or decided upon.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English an, on; see an- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English on, from Old English on, an ("on, upon, onto, in, into"), from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *ano-, *nō- (“on”). Cognate with North Frisian a ("on, in"), 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 (ana, "up, upon"), Albanian  ("in"); and from the Old Norse combination upp á: Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , see upon.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old Norse ón, án ("without"), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēno, *ino (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *anew, *enew (“without”). Cognate with North Frisian on ("without"), Middle Dutch an, on ("without"), Middle Low German āne ("without"), German ohne ("without"), Gothic  (inu, "without, except"), Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, "without").

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Examples

  • • If you're traveling on one of BA's code-sharing and/or marketing partners, such as fellow oneworld alliance member American Airlines, check that carrier's information on  rebookings and refunds.

    British Airways strike: How to deal with disrupted air travel plans 2010

  • It might be caused by advertising I see ads, but never on my own page, and therefore might not be *on* the LJ site, but something allows the ads to redirect to an illegal malware link that brings up a screen that looks like your Windows Explorer window that tells you that your computer has 300+ viruses.

    mikandra: I'm still here... mikandra 2010

  • It might be caused by advertising I see ads, but never on my own page, and therefore might not be *on* the LJ site, but something allows the ads to redirect to an illegal malware link that brings up a screen that looks like your Windows Explorer window that tells you that your computer has 300+ viruses.

    I'm still here... mikandra 2010

  • It was different that night, not the way they yelled at me when I walked into the house with mud on my shoes; more the sound of screeching brakes when my dog was run over - going on and on  forever.

    My Life as a Part-Time Rapist, Full- Time Comedian 2010

  • Also, Kaz, I actually think that Christians would get along *better* if they *gave up on* inerrancy, but most won't give up on it so it's a pipedream.

    The Inerrancy of Ecclesiastes 9:2-6 James F. McGrath 2010

  • For more on protecting your ears, read our Safety blog on how hearing damage adds up, find out if noise canceling headphones might help, and watch our video (above)  on how to reduce your risk of hearing loss.

    Hear ye, hear ye: time to turn down that iPod? 2010

  • 'Taking a break from my grueling home-work schedule, I plopped on my bed, remote in hand, and hit the \ "on\" button.

    Janice Taylor: How Much Does Whoopi Goldberg Weigh? 2009

  • 'Taking a break from my grueling home-work schedule, I plopped on my bed, remote in hand, and hit the \ "on\" button.

    Janice Taylor: How Much Does Whoopi Goldberg Weigh? 2009

  • And, for help on getting the best homeowners insurance coverage without skimping, read our article on  shoring up your coverage from Consumer Reports Money Adviser.

    Lightning strikes twice? Not quite, but it's hitting homes more often. 2009

  • VIEW FAVORITES yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'Sen. Webb puts marijuana legalization \'on the table\' '; yahooBuzzArticleSummary =' Speaking to CNN on Thursday morning in an effort to whip up political support for his prison reform proposals, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) insisted that marijuana legalization should be "on the table."'

    OpEdNews - Quicklink: Sen. Webb puts marijuana legalization 'on the table' 2009

  • When then-16-year-old Kayla Newman posted a Vine admiring her eyebrows, she wasn’t intending for the phrase “on fleek” to become a contender for 2015’s “word of the year.”

    TikTok is full of tryhard slang Rebecca Jennings 2024

Comments

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  • Cricket jargon - the side of the field closest to the batsman's body.

    November 29, 2007