Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

on - thesaurus entry
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

adverb, preposition
  1. 1
    touching a surface or an object
    1. a.
      touching and supported by the top surface of something

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

      Function words referring to location: about, across, after, ahead, along, apart, around, before, beyond, by... more
    2. b.
      onto a surface
    3. c.
      touching, sticking to, or hanging from a surface or object

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

      Function words referring to location: about, across, after, ahead, along, apart, around, before, beyond, by... more
  4. 4
    in a particular place
    1. a.
      in a particular area, or on a particular type of land

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

      Function words referring to location: about, across, after, ahead, along, apart, around, before, beyond, by... more
    2. b.
      in a particular road or street

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

      Function words referring to location: about, across, after, ahead, along, apart, around, before, beyond, by... more
    3. c.
      at the side of a river or area of water

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

      Function words referring to location: about, across, after, ahead, along, apart, around, before, beyond, by... more
  9. 9
    happening, or being broadcast
    1. a.
      being broadcast by radio or television

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

      To broadcast or be broadcast on television or radio: broadcast, report, screen, come on, transmit, televise, run, break, show, beam... more
    2. b.
      mainly British taking place or happening somewhere
  12. 12
    in or into a bus, train, airplane, etc.

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

    To get on and off of tranport: get on, board, transfer, embark, catch, change, disembarkation, off, on, deplane... more
  15. 15
    using a particular drug

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

    Relating to medicines and drugs: contraindication, dosage, dose, drug, injection, medicated, narcotics, OD, off, on... more
  24. 24
    British used for giving the phone number which you can use to talk to someone. The American word is at

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of on*

    Telephone numbers: 000, 0800 number, 1471, 1800 number, 190 number, 411, 800 number, 900 number, 911, 999... more

phrases

These are synonyms and/or related words for on in the American English Thesaurus. View synonyms and/or related words for on in the British English Thesaurus.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

dray

a type of cart pulled by a horse and used in the past for carrying barrels of beer

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog