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

See Examples For:

upon

Instead, in Maugham’s estimation, he was “this laborious, honest, matter-of-fact man” who painted—when at his best—“as though the grace of God had descended upon him.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Regulations dating to 1975 permit separate teams by sex “where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill or the activity involved is a contact sport.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The achievement isn’t lost on Jim Tracy, who became so emotional upon learning his son was named interim Red Sox manager he pulled his car to the side of the road.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

By summer 1895, students were lobbing small balls into waste paper baskets perched upon poles on the lawn of a new Dartford talent factory: Madame Bergman Osterberg's Physical Training College.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

When I look back upon that life, I almost say in defense of myself that I did not take any pleasure in it.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock