be on to
Idioms-
Be aware of or have information about, as in They can't pull that trick again; we're on to them now . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1800s]
-
Discover something important or profitable, as in The researchers claim they are really on to something big . [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And from what I saw, at least on the right night, Dave & Buster’s may be on to something.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
And yet here I am, about to tell you that young people might be on to something.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2025
With a resume as eclectic and consistent as his, he must be on to something.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2025
When he talked to Dean Lomax, they suspected they might be on to a major discovery.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2024
The next thing you knew, the project would be off and he’d be on to the next one, and the cycle would start again.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
