onto

¹

[ on-too, awn-; unstressed on-tuh, awn- ]

preposition

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

   to get onto a horse.

2. Informal. in or into a state of awareness about:

   I'm onto your scheme.

adjective

1. Also . Mathematics. pertaining to a function or map from one set to another set, the range of which is the entire second set.

onto-

²

1. a combining form meaning “being,” used in the formation of compound words:

   ontogeny.

onto-

¹

combining_form

1. existence or being

   ontology

   ontogeny

onto

²

/ ˈɒntə; ˈɒntʊ /

preposition

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of onto¹

First recorded in 1575–85; on + to

Origin of onto²

< New Latin < Greek ont- (stem of ón, neuter present participle of eînai to be) + -o- -o-

Word History and Origins

Origin of onto¹

from Late Greek, from ōn (stem ont- ) being, present participle of einai to be

Example Sentences

In practicality, many importers incur these costs themselves and then pass some of these costs onto consumers so that these businesses can maintain healthy profit margins.

From Salon

More than a quarter of a century later, Foster will step onto that same field Saturday night needing to prove himself anew against another team wearing the loathsome cardinal and gold.

From Los Angeles Times

Both men separately stumbled onto the bizarre bacteriophage phenomenon in the 1910s, when the bacteria they were growing mysteriously vanished.

From Salon

A mum with kids requiring refrigerated medicines for cancer rang up with her voice cracking because she could not afford her £5 prepayment top-up and asked to be put onto a credit direct debit.

From BBC

She suffered multiple injuries when she fell forwards onto the floor and she died days later in hospital.

From BBC

Words That Use

What does onto- mean?

Onto- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “being.” It is occasionally used in technical terms, especially in philosophy.

The form onto- comes from Greek ṓn, meaning “being.” The Latin equivalents are ēns, ent- and essent- “being,” which are the sources of entity and essence.

What are variants of onto-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, onto- becomes ont-, as in ontic. When used as a suffix at the end of a word, onto- becomes -ont, as in diplont. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for ont- and -ont.

Examples of onto-

One example of a term from philosophy that features the form onto- is ontology, the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence. Ontology comes from the New Latin ontologia, which uses the equivalent form of onto- in the language.

The onto- part of the word means “being,” but what about the -logy part of the word? It may look familiar from words like biology; the form -logy is used to name areas of study or branches of science, from Greek logía. Ontology literally means “the study of being.”

What are some words that use the combining form onto-?

• ontogenesis
• ontogenetic
• ontogeny
• ontological
• ontologize

What are some other forms that onto- may be commonly confused with?

• onco-
• oneiro-
• oto-

Break it down!

The combining form -geny means “origin.” With this in mind, what does the biological term ontogeny mean?