touching or
forming part of a surface ( Si, PftH ) &-± (): a picture on a wall J#f ±
ill o There’s a mark on your skirt. ftlUTAW
ikMo 0 the diagram on page 5% 5 0 Put it down on the table.
o He had been hit on the
head. ft 17ft 7IS£lo O She climbed on
to the bed. M)N3±TJ^o This could
also be written; onto the bed
lit ft ft ft ft: onto the bed 2 supported by sb/sth ft £ If If : She was standing on one foot. 0 <> Try lying on
your
back. <> Hang your coat on that hook. fEAII£
3 used to show a means of
transport ft ( iiiXl; ) ±; He was on the plane from
to show a day or date ft ( ^ — A ) : He
came on Sunday. ftJiMI$AA&A 0 We meet on
Tuesdays. ISfi] # M $1—JSL® 0 o on May the first/the first of
May ft3l R — 0 o on the
evening of May the first ftftjl "0 65 ± 0 on one occasion
H’gSTf —O on your birthday ft ft ft 0 8P A 5 immediately after sth ft ft • • ■ ZfE;
— ■ • ■
: On arriving home I discovered they had gone. IS — ffeifc
AMftfJE^pJFJo d Please report to reception on arrival. l!j IE if fL BP fj W: t# flU M o
<> There was a letter waiting for him on his return, ft— £tfit
ft^UftiA 6 about sth/sb ( ^^tA ) : a book
on
irregular verbs, jfe # T IS ill W 7 M M
^Jia] „ 7 being
carried by sb; in the possession of sb ( # ± ) ^
H; ft: Have you got any money on you? ft ^$5 7 t&W ?
8 used to show that sb belongs to a group or an
organization ^3 ( ^ a ft M #1 ) (Kj — M : to be on the
committee/staff/jury/panel 7:ftIRM
/ PfftlS /
0 Whose side are you on (= which of two or more different views do you
support)? ftj£#i|$—ft 1$«? 9 eating or drinking sth; using
a drug or a medicine regularly n£; n§; JfcNJRffi ( 15^5
) : He lived on a diet of junk food. ft
ffiiil5.1l' pp ^ „ <> The
doctor put me on antibiotics. IS JJ5 ft ^
10 used to show direction ( ^EtkAIo] ) ft, Iftl, Xt: on the left/right ftftiS/ ftii
0 He turned his back on us. ft$|s&#A#JWISCIa
11 at or near a place ft,
^ i£ ( ft ) : a town on the coast fSf
(ft ffl, K o a house on the
7^ 0 You can’t feed a family on £50 a
week. ftAj&H 50 — ^Ao 0 Drinks are on me (= I am
paying), tfcj&ll ft IS#o 14 by means of sth;
using sth MM; ftft; fit®JT: She played a tune on her guitar. ftftft$Jnrft#7—AffiTo 0 The information is
available on the Internet. A
ft % 3\ J. 0 0 We
spoke on the phone. 0 What’s on
TV? ft^JSXTf'ft
£,7 @ ? O The programme’s on Channel 4. M'TT' B ft 4
) : a ban on smoking 0 He’s hard on
his kids. B
f^Jjj o o Go easy on the mayo!
(= do not give me too much) ! 16
compared with sb/sth A- -
ffitfc: Sales are up on last year.
17
used to describe an activity or a state ( T 0J1
ti§
) : to be on business/holiday/vacation
ft I# / o The book is currently on loan. £t}0
18
used when giving a telephone number ( T %
■^^ff ) : You can get me on 0181 530
3906. pJ
0181 530 3906o 0 She’s on extension 2401. mmjk 2401D
■ adv. ihiiJ For the special uses of on in phrasal verbs,
look at the entries for the verbs. For example get on is in the phrasal
verb section at get. * on ft^ig-^i^TW
jfo getonfti^&get
is] 1
used to show that sth continues (
ft ) : He worked on without a break.
I ft o o If you like a good story, read on.
Bfcfrft, if ft T i^o 2 used to show that sb/sth moves or is sent forward
ft 1M ft ^ ) : She stopped for a moment, then walked on. MJsXftllu^o
0 Keep straight on for the beach. — ]|[ ft fu ^ 3\ M 0 0 From then on he never
trusted her again. ft
if BTftif ftTo o Please send the letter on
to my new address, if ft ft ft $1 fF 3\ ft fr ft ft 0 3 on sb’s body;
being worn iFftlfft; it#: Put your coat on.
01 didn’t have my glasses on. ffcifcflcBlllio
19
What did she have on (= what was she wearing)? ft W lr ft ^ ftIR? 4 covering, touching or
forming part of
sth (Axuii. mmm): Make sure the lid is on. W&Mmt dint1?- 0 5
connected or
operating; being used (
ft ) : The lights were all on. ftIPifilir „ 0 The TV is always on in
their house, ft ft ^ (ft ft M & Ji ft lr 0 0 We were without electricity
for three hours but it’s on again now. Hcft^ftT^ftftT, '7M£X*ft7o
6
happening ( ) :
There
was a war on at the
time. ^ RtfIEil[$c#-o
0 What’s
on at the movies? ftjg^ O The band are on (= performing) in ten minutes. % IA # il
ft ft # TF ft M i 0 7 planned to
take place in the future ( The
game is still on (= it has not been
cancelled),
^ ft o o I don’t think we’ve got anything on this
weekend. ^8ft&3c$i£3&. -9 I’m sorry we
can’t come—we’ve got a lot on. ilftifcficft^TT
ft £ $ % Aif 7,o 8 on duty; working {IS; #lftft ^
ft : 7’m on now till 8 tomorrow morning, JH il i, 8J-?-
8 9 in or into a vehicle ( 7
) : The bus stopped and four people got on.
E97A±77o 0 They hurried on to the plane. ftft^Ht®±7^ljic —see also onto FR71 be 'on about sth (informal) to talk about sth; to mean
sth i&i£ ( I didn’t know what he was
on
about. It didn’t make sense. Sc7^Pilftift Wit 'a „ fti^ Kl iS:ft M Xo be/go/keep 'on about sth (informal, disapproving) to talk in a boring or
complaining way about sth ftnf9U; ^7^: Stop keeping on about it! ! be/go/keep 'on at sb (to do
sth) (informal, disapproving) to keep asking or telling
sb sth so that they become annoyed or tired A ) % He was on at me again to lend him money. ftX^lill^ciH^ffto
be 'on for
sth {informal) to want to do sth Is anyone on
for a drink after work? ^XMl'WUsb®—? it isn’t on (informal) used to say that sth is
not acceptable 7 ft; mVL ,on and 'on without stopping;
continuously She went on and on about her trip. ft&^ii&Tft-i&ftlftJfcfto
what are
you, etc. on? (informal) used when you are very surprised at sb’s
behaviour and are suggesting that they are acting in a similar way to sb using
drugs ft %. 7' £§ 7 DB; ft
(& Ih 7
BE you’re 'on (informal) used when you are
accepting a bet ( ft )
Jt&*&«B — more at
off adv.
,on-'air adj. (in radio and television ft Tft jf A ft W
being broadcast JEfEfflifiX: She explains how she deals with on-air
technical problems. Ml?#7 3Sfeft pm OFF-AIR ► ,on-'air adv.
onan ism /'aunanizam;
NAmE 'ou-/ noun [U] {formal)
20
= MASTURBATION at MASTURBATE 2 = COITUS INTERRUPTUS
,on-'board adj. [only before noun] 1 on a ship, aircraft
or vehicle 7)±&T an on-board motor
B, ft 2 (computing if) relating to, or
controlled
by, part of the main circuit board ( jSffciJ ) $J;
: a PC with on-board sound 657A
ft®
Once tHr /wAns/ adv., conj.
madv. 1 on one occasion only; one time ft—
I’ve only been there once. f£RAM:8PJt—o He cleans his car once a
week. ft#ft ?5fc—o She only sees her parents once every
six months.
0 (informal) He only did it the once. JLftft ftTii — 2 at some time in the past ^^:
I once met your mother. IS ^ IgriE ilft#Sts 0 He once