upon

American  

[uh-pon, uh-pawn] / əˈpɒn, əˈpɔn /

preposition

1. up and on; upward so as to get or be on.

   He climbed upon his horse and rode off.

2. in an elevated position on.

   There is a television antenna upon every house in the neighborhood.

3. in or into complete or approximate contact with, as an attacker or an important or pressing occasion.

   The enemy was upon us and our soldiers had little time to escape. The Christmas holiday will soon be upon us and we have hardly begun to buy gifts. The time to take action is upon us.

4. immediately or very soon after.

   She went into mourning upon her husband's death.

5. on the occasion of.

   She was joyful upon seeing her child take his first steps.

6. on (in any of various senses, used as an equivalent of on with no added idea of ascent or elevation, and preferred in certain cases only for euphonic or metrical reasons).

   He swore upon his honor as a gentleman.

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upon British  

/ əˈpɒn /

preposition

1. another word for on

2. indicating a position reached by going up

   climb upon my knee

3. imminent for

   the weekend was upon us again

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upon Idioms  

1. see act on (upon); call on (upon); chance on (upon); come across (upon); come on (upon); count on (upon); dawn on (upon); dwell on (upon); enter on (upon); fall back on (upon); fall on (upon); grow on (upon); hard on (upon); hit on (upon); incumbent upon; light on (upon); once upon a time; pitch on (upon); play on (upon); put upon; seize on (upon); set at (upon); take it upon oneself; wait on (upon); weigh on (upon); work on (upon).

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Etymology

Origin of upon

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; up (adverb) + on (preposition)

Example Sentences

That is exactly what another academic study found upon measuring the stock market’s performance during World Cups between 1950 and 2007: The U.S. stock market produced an average loss of 2.6% during those tournaments.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

What fabulous representatives these are of the country that Europe once looked upon with gratitude and respect: clownish, crude and stupid all at once.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

So it was gratifying to see Lane receive his due from Mantello, who upon accepting his award for directing credited Lane with being the inspiration for the production.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Topics of change and adapting to challenges featured on this year's gaokao exams, which often touch upon ideology and societal issues.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

In fact, right then a nap was insisting itself upon Duane, who yawned in complete agreement.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el