4 PREP You use on to say what part of your body is supporting your weight. □ He continued to lie on his back and look at clouds. □ He raised himself on his elbows, squinting into the sun. □ She was on her hands and knees in the bathroom.
5 PREP You use on to say that someone or something touches a part of a person's body. □ He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the mouth. □ His jaw was broken after he was hit on the head.
6 PREP If someone has a particular expression on their face, their face has that expression. □ The maid looked at him, a nervous smile on her face. □ She looked at him with a hurt expression on her face.
7 ADV [ADV after v] When you put a piece of clothing on , you place it over part of your body in order to wear it. If you have it on , you are wearing it. □ He put his coat on while she opened the front door. □ I had a hat on.
8 PREP You can say that you have something on you if you are carrying it in your pocket or in a bag. □ I didn't have any money on me.
9 PREP If someone's eyes are on you, they are looking or staring at you. □ Everyone's eyes were fixed on him. □ It's as if all eyes are focused on me.
10 PREP If you hurt yourself on something, you accidentally hit a part of your body against it and that thing causes damage to you. □ Mr Pendle hit his head on a wall as he fell.
11 PREP If you are on an area of land, you are there. □ You lived on the farm until you came back to America? □ …a tall tree on a mountain.
12 PREP If something is situated on a place such as a road or coast, it forms part of it or is by the side of it. □ The company has opened a men's store on Fifth Avenue. □ The hotel is on the coast. □ He visited relatives at their summer house on the river.
13 PREP If you get on a bus, train, or plane, you go into it in order to travel somewhere. If you are on it, you are travelling in it. □ We waited till twelve and we finally got on the plane. □ I never go on the bus into the town. ● ADV [ADV after v] On is also an adverb. □ He showed his ticket to the conductor and got on.
14 PREP If there is something on a piece of paper, it has been written or printed there. □ The writing on the back of the card was cramped but scrupulously neat. □ The numbers she put on the chart were 98.4, 64, and 105.
15 PREP If something is on a list, it is included in it. □ Nutritionists placed certain seafood dishes on the list of foods to limit or avoid. □ …the range of topics on the agenda for their talks.
16 PREP Books, discussions, or ideas on a particular subject are concerned with that subject. □ They offer a free counselling service which can offer help and advice on legal matters. □ He declined to give any information on the Presidential election.
17 PREP You use on to introduce the method, principle, or system which is used to do something. □ …a television that we bought on credit two months ago. □ …a levelling system which acts on the same principle as a spirit level. □ They want all groups to be treated on an equal basis.
18 PREP If something is done on an instrument or a machine, it is done using that instrument or machine. □ …songs that I could just sit down and play on the piano. □ I could do all my work on the computer.
19 PREP If information is, for example, on tape or on computer, that is the way that it is stored. □ Tourists try, and fail, to capture the view on film. □ Descriptions of the pieces have been logged on computer by the Art Loss Register.
20 PREP If something is being broadcast, you can say that it is on the radio or television. □ Every sporting event on television and satellite over the next seven days is listed. □ Here, listen, they're talking about it on Radio-Paris right now. ● ADJ [v-link ADJ ] On is also an adjective. □ …teenagers complaining there's nothing good on.
21 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] When an activity is taking place, you can say that it is on . □ There's a marvellous match on at Wimbledon at the moment. □ We in Berlin hardly knew a war was on during the early part of 1941.
22 ADV [ADV after v] You use on in expressions such as ' have a lot on ' and ' not have very much on ' to indicate how busy someone is. [SPOKEN ] □ I have a lot on in the next week.
23 PREP You use on to introduce an activity that someone is doing, particularly travelling. □ I've always wanted to go on a cruise. □ Students on the full-time course of study are usually sponsored.
24 ADV [be ADV , ADV after v] When something such as a machine or an electric light is on , it is functioning or in use. When you switch it on , it starts functioning. □ The central heating's been turned off. I've turned it on again. □ The light had been left on. □ He didn't bother to switch on the light.
25 PREP If you are on a committee or council, you are a member of it. □ Claire and Beryl were on the organizing committee. □ He was on the Council of Foreign Relations.
26 PREP You can indicate when something happens by saying that it happens on a particular day or date. □ This year's event will take place on June 19th, a week earlier than usual. □ She travels to Korea on Monday. □ I was born on Christmas day. □ Dr. Keen arrived about seven on Sunday morning.
27 PREP You use on when mentioning an event that was followed by another one. □ She waited in her hotel to welcome her children on their arrival from London. □ On reaching Dubai, the evacuees are taken straight to Dubai international airport.