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. 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

Building upon the cinematic qualities of its music, its videos elevate not only its narratives but also its rock-star personas as well.

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Ozzie Breyer, the son of an upstairs neighbor, fought in the Navy; upon his return he gave me a small Japanese sword in its scabbard, and when it was over he gave me one of his naval hats.

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Turns out this same generation may also have been the most put upon and longest suffering.

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Upon completion, the plant is planned to be sold with no job cuts to be expected, a spokesperson added.

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USC left Ann Arbor, Mich., last season battered and bruised, its narrow September loss to Michigan having laid bare one of the program’s most pressing concerns upon joining the Big Ten.

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