upon

[ uh-pon, uh-pawn ]

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.

upon

/ əˈpɒn /

preposition

1. See on
   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

Word History and Origins

Origin of upon¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of upon¹

C13: from up + on

Idioms and Phrases

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) .

Example Sentences

Completed in 1953 and composed with standard line breaks and punctuation, the book was completely ignored upon submission.

From The Daily Beast

Once upon a time, a girl named Onika Maraj dreamed of being an actress.

From The Daily Beast

Excited, Shaheen wasted no time and began interviewing surgeons, deciding upon Dr. Curtis Crane in Greenbrae, California.

From The Daily Beast

The poet apparently collapsed in the street upon his departure from “The Horse” and died not long after.

From The Daily Beast

“I happened upon yak butter tea, a traditional high-energy food eaten by Tibetans,” Asprey says.

From The Daily Beast

It is thinner than that of chronic bronchitis, and upon standing separates into three layers of pus, mucus, and frothy serum.

From Project Gutenberg

Other things being equal, the volume of voice used measures the value that the mind puts upon the thought.

From Project Gutenberg

He was too drowsy to hold the thought more than a moment in his mind, much less to reflect upon it.

From Project Gutenberg

In the year of misery, of agony and suffering in general he had endured, he had settled upon one theory.

From Project Gutenberg

He turned his eyes upon her; but no sympathy was in their beams; no belief in the semblance of her tears.

From Project Gutenberg