onto

[ on-too, awn-; unstressed on-tuh, awn- ]

See synonyms for onto on Thesaurus.com

preposition

to a place or position on; upon; on: to get onto a horse.
Informal. in or into a state of awareness about: I'm onto your scheme.

adjective

Also surjective .Mathematics. pertaining to a function or map from one set to another set, the range of which is the entire second set.

Origin of onto

First recorded in 1575–85; on + to

Words that may be confused with onto

on, onto , on to

Other definitions for onto- (2 of 2)

onto-

a combining form meaning “being,” used in the formation of compound words: ontogeny.

Origin of onto-

<New Latin <Greek ont- (stem of ón, neuter present participle of eînai to be) + -o--o-

Also especially before a vowel, ont-.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use onto in a sentence

For his part, Bratton is disappointed but not surprised that the same narrative is already being mapped onto Fry and Spencer.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic | Samantha Allen | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
So it might be me projecting my desires onto Archer to want to just get away from work for a few weeks.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS | Marlow Stern | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
I was sick in street gutters, onto my desk, at dinners with friends.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 | Vicky Ward | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Gang tattoos are still inked onto his face, like scarlet letters.
How Good Dads Can Change the World | Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Where these laser-like missiles are falling out of the sky onto a city and you have to stop each of them from hitting the targets?
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange | Marlow Stern | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

I put down my haid, and was just kinda dragged up the aisle and onto the platform.
Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher | Eleanor Gates
His untidy hair was rumpled, as if someone had been hanging onto it while in the process of giving him the shiner.
Fee of the Frontier | Horace Brown Fyfe
Either: we cannot give you what you ask, so fall back onto the defensive; or, go ahead, we will give you the means.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
But momentum was sufficient to carry Jeff Weedham's roadster out onto the road.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various
Black Hood let the clutch slap in and the roadster bounded back onto the tarvia drive.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for onto (1 of 2)

onto

on to

/ (ˈɒntʊ, unstressed ˈɒntə) /

preposition

to a position that is on: step onto the train as it passes
having become aware of (something illicit or secret): the police are onto us

into contact with: get onto the factory

usage For onto

Onto is now generally accepted as a word in its own right. On to is still used, however, where on is considered to be part of the verb: he moved on to a different town as contrasted with he jumped onto the stage

British Dictionary definitions for onto- (2 of 2)

onto-

combining form

existence or being: ontogeny; ontology

Origin of onto-

from Late Greek, from ōn (stem ont-) being, present participle of einai to be

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with onto

onto

see be on to.

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