onto

onto

to place or position upon: He put his glasses onto the table.; to be aware of: I’m onto your wily ways.

Not to be confused with:

on to – go forward: moved on to the next phase

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

on·to

 (ŏn′to͞o′, -tə, ôn′-)

prep.

1. On top of; to a position on; upon: The dog jumped onto the chair.

2. Informal Fully aware of; informed about: The police are onto the robbers' plans.

adj. Mathematics

Of, relating to, or being a function such that every element of the codomain is the value that corresponds to an element in the domain.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

onto

(ˈɒntʊ; unstressed ˈɒntə) or

on to

prep

1. to a position that is on: step onto the train as it passes.

2. having become aware of (something illicit or secret): the police are onto us.

3. into contact with: get onto the factory.

Usage: 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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

on•to

(ˈɒn tu, ˈɔn-; unstressed ˈɒn tə, ˈɔn-)

prep.

1. to a place or position on; upon; on.

2. Informal. aware of the true nature, motive, or meaning of: I'm onto your tricks.

adj.

3. Math. pertaining to a function or map from one set to another set, the range of which is the entire second set.

[1575–85]

onto-

a combining form meaning “being”: ontogeny.

[< New Latin < Greek]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

onto

You usually use the preposition onto to say where someone or something falls or is put.

He fell down onto the floor.

Place the bread onto a large piece of clean white cloth.

After many verbs you can use either onto or on with the same meaning.

I fell with a crash onto the road.

He fell on the floor with a thud.

She poured some shampoo onto my hair.

Carlo poured ketchup on the beans.

However, after verbs meaning climb or lift you should use onto, rather than 'on'.

She climbed up onto his knee.

The little boy was helped onto the piano stool.

If you hold onto something, you put your hand round it or against it in order to avoid falling. After verbs meaning hold, you use onto as a preposition and on as an adverb.

She had to hold onto the edge of the table.

I couldn't put up my umbrella and hold on at the same time.

We were both hanging onto the side of the boat.

He had to hang on to avoid being washed overboard.

Onto is sometimes written as two words on to.

She sank on to a chair.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

Translations

عَلَىفي

dona

ombord påop på

aufinsurjektiv

πάνωσε

aenhacia

jhk suuntaan tai paikkaan

suràdans

nau

susopra

･･･に･･･の上へ

~에~위로

inop

oppipå

dona

entrarparapara cima de

на

na

påupp

เข้าไปยังไปบน

neüzerine

ở trêntrên

到…之上到…里面

onto

[ˈɒntʊ] PREP

1. (= on top of) → a, sobre, en, arriba de (LAm)
he got onto the table → se subió a la mesa

2. (= on track of) to be onto sth → haber encontrado algo, seguir una pista interesante
he knows he's onto a good thing → sabe que ha encontrado algo que vale la pena
the police are onto the villain → la policía tiene una pista que le conducirá al criminal
we're onto them → les conocemos el juego
they were onto him at once → le calaron en seguida, le identificaron en el acto

3. (= in touch with) I'll get onto him about it → insistiré con él, se lo recordaré

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

onto

on to [ˈɒntu ˈɒntuː ˈɒntə] prep → sur
to get onto sth [+ bus, train, plane] → monter dans qch
We got onto the bus and sat down → Nous sommes montés dans le bus et nous sommes assis.
to be onto sth → être sur un coup
to be onto something big → être sur un gros coup
Archaeologists knew they were onto something big → Les archéologues savaient qu'ils étaient sur un gros coup., Les archéologues pressentaient qu'ils étaient en train de découvrir quelque chose d'important.
to be onto sb → être après qn

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

onto

prep

(= upon, on top of) → auf (+acc); (on sth vertical) → an (+acc); to clip something onto something → etw an etw (acc) → anklemmen; to get onto the committee → in den Ausschuss kommen

(in verbal expressions, see also vb +on) to get/come onto a subject → auf ein Thema zu sprechen kommen; to come onto the market → auf den Markt kommen; are you onto the next chapter already? → sind Sie schon beim nächsten Kapitel?; when will you get onto the next chapter? → wann kommen Sie zum nächsten Kapitel?; the windows look onto the lake → die Fenster gehen zur Seeseite hinaus; to be onto or on to somebody (= find sb out) → jdm auf die Schliche gekommen sein (inf); (police) → jdm auf der Spur sein; I think we’re onto something → ich glaube, hier sind wir auf etwas gestoßen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

onto

[ˈɒntʊ] prep → su, sopra
he climbed onto the table → è salito sopra il tavolo
to be onto sb (fam) (suspect) → scoprire qn
I'm onto something (fam) → sono su una buona pista
to be onto a good thing (fam) → trovare l'America
I'll get onto him about it → gliene parlerò io

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

onto

→ عَلَى, في do, na ombord på, op på auf, in πάνω, σε a, en, hacia jhk suuntaan tai paikkaan dans, sur na, u su ･･･に, ･･･の上へ ~에, ~위로 in, op oppi, på do, na entrar, para, para cima de на på, upp เข้าไปยัง, ไปบน ne, üzerine ở trên, trên 到…之上, 到…里面

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009