onto ◆◇◇ /ɒ ntu/ also on to In addition to the uses shown below, onto is used in phrasal verbs such as 'hold onto' and 'latch onto'. 1 PREP If something moves or is put onto an object or surface, it is then on that object or surface. □ I took my bags inside, lowered myself onto the bed and switched on the TV. □ Smear Vaseline on to your baby's skin to prevent soreness.
2 PREP You can sometimes use onto to mention the place or area that someone moves into. □ The players emerged onto the field. □ Alex turned his car on to the Albert Quay and drove along until he found a parking place.
3 PREP You can use onto to introduce the place towards which a light or someone's look is directed. □ …the metal part of the door onto which the sun had been shining. □ …the house with its leafy garden and its view on to Regent's Park.
4 PREP You can use onto to introduce a place that you would immediately come to after leaving another place that you have just mentioned, because they are next to each other. □ …windows opening onto carved black-wood balconies. □ The door opened onto a lighted hallway.
5 PREP When you change the position of your body, you use onto to introduce the part your body which is now supporting you. □ As he stepped backwards she fell onto her knees, then onto her face. □ I willed my eyes to open and heaved myself over on to my back.
6 PREP When you get onto a bus, train, or plane, you enter it in order to travel somewhere. □ As he got on to the plane, he asked me how I was feeling. □ 'I'll see you onto the train.'—'Thank you.'
7 PREP Onto is used after verbs such as 'hold', 'hang', and 'cling' to indicate what someone is holding firmly or where something is being held firmly. □ The reflector is held onto the sides of the spacecraft with a frame. □ She was conscious of a second man hanging on to the rail.
8 PREP If people who are talking get onto a different subject, they begin talking about it. □ Let's get on to more important matters. □ So, if we could just move onto something else?
9 PREP You can sometimes use onto to indicate that something or someone becomes included as a part of a list or system. □ The Macedonian question had failed to get on to the agenda. □ The pill itself has changed a lot since it first came onto the market. □ Twelve thousand workers will go onto a four-day week at their factory in Birmingham.
10 PREP If someone is onto something, they are about to discover something important. [INFORMAL ] □ He leaned across the table and whispered to me, 'I'm really onto something.'. □ Archaeologists knew they were onto something big when they started digging.
11 PREP If someone is onto you, they have discovered that you are doing something illegal or wrong. [INFORMAL ] □ I had told people what he had been doing, so now the police were onto him.
on|tol|ogy /ɒntɒ lədʒi/ N‑UNCOUNT Ontology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of existence. [TECHNICAL ] ● on|to|logi|cal /ɒ ntəlɒ dʒ I k ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] □ …the ontological question of the relationship between mind and body.
onus /oʊ nəs/ N‑SING If you say that the onus is on someone to do something, you mean it is their duty or responsibility to do it. [FORMAL ] □ If you ordered something, then the onus is on you to pay for it. [Also + of ]
on|ward /ɒ nwə r d/ also onwards In British English, onwards is an adverb and onward is an adjective. In American English and sometimes in formal British English, onward may also be an adverb. 1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Onward means moving forward or continuing a journey. □ They have two flights a day to Bangkok, and there are onward flights to Phnom Penh. ● ADV [ADV after v] Onward is also an adverb. □ The bus continued onward. □ [+ to ] He measured the distance to the nearest Antarctic coast, and onwards to the South Pole.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Onward means developing, progressing, or becoming more important over a period of time. □ …the onward march of progress in the British aircraft industry. ● ADV [ADV after v] Onward is also an adverb. □ I can see things just going onwards and upwards for us now.
3 ADV [from n ADV ] If something happens from a particular time onwards or onward , it begins to happen at that time and continues to happen afterwards. □ From the turn of the century onward, she shared the life of the aborigines.
onyx /ɒ n I ks/ N‑UNCOUNT Onyx is a stone which can be various colours. It is used for making ornaments, jewellery, or furniture.
oo /uː / → see ooh
oodles /uː d ə lz/ QUANT If you say that there is oodles of something, you are emphasizing that there is a very large quantity of it. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ [+ of ] The recipe calls for oodles of melted chocolate.
ooh /uː / also oo EXCLAM People say ' ooh ' when they are surprised, looking forward to something, or find something pleasant or unpleasant. [INFORMAL , FEELINGS ] □ 'Ooh dear me, that's a bit of a racist comment isn't it.'. □ 'Red? Ooh how nice.'
oomph /ʊ mf/ N‑UNCOUNT If you say that someone or something has oomph , you mean that they are energetic and exciting. [INFORMAL , APPROVAL ] □ 'There's no buzz, there's no oomph about the place,' he complained.
oops /ʊ ps, uː ps/ EXCLAM You say ' oops ' to indicate that there has been a slight accident or mistake, or to apologize to someone for it. [INFORMAL , FEELINGS ] □ Today they're saying, 'Oops, we made a mistake.'
ooze /uː z/ (oozes , oozing , oozed )
1 VERB When a thick or sticky liquid oozes from something or when something oozes it, the liquid flows slowly and in small quantities. □ [V ] He saw there was a big hole in the back of the man's head, blood was still oozing from it. □ [V adv] The lava will just ooze gently out of the crater. □ [V n] The wounds may heal cleanly or they may ooze a clear liquid.