onto

on·to  (nt, -t, ôn-)

prep.

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

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

adj. Mathematics

Of, relating to, or being a mapping such that every element of the target set referred to is the image of an element in the domain.

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onto, on to [ˈɒntʊ (unstressed) ˈɒntə]

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

Translations

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

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

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

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

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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