upon

[ uh-pon, uh-pawn ]

preposition

1. up and on; upward so as to get or be on:

   He climbed upon his horse and rode off.

2. in an elevated position on:

   There is a television antenna upon every house in the neighborhood.

3. in or into complete or approximate contact with, as an attacker or an important or pressing occasion:

   The enemy was upon us and our soldiers had little time to escape. The Christmas holiday will soon be upon us and we have hardly begun to buy gifts. The time to take action is upon us.

4. immediately or very soon after:

   She went into mourning upon her husband's death.

5. on the occasion of:

   She was joyful upon seeing her child take his first steps.

6. on (in any of various senses, used as an equivalent of on with no added idea of ascent or elevation, and preferred in certain cases only for euphonic or metrical reasons):

   He swore upon his honor as a gentleman.

upon

/ əˈpɒn /

preposition

1. another word for on
2. indicating a position reached by going up

   climb upon my knee

3. imminent for

   the weekend was upon us again

Word History and Origins

Origin of upon¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; up (adverb) + on (preposition)

Word History and Origins

Origin of upon¹

C13: from up + on

Idioms and Phrases

see act on (upon) ; call on (upon) ; chance on (upon) ; come across (upon) ; come on (upon) ; count on (upon) ; dawn on (upon) ; dwell on (upon) ; enter on (upon) ; fall back on (upon) ; fall on (upon) ; grow on (upon) ; hard on (upon) ; hit on (upon) ; incumbent upon ; light on (upon) ; once upon a time ; pitch on (upon) ; play on (upon) ; put upon ; seize on (upon) ; set at (upon) ; take it upon oneself ; wait on (upon) ; weigh on (upon) ; work on (upon) .

Example Sentences

Upon its release, some viewers were exasperated by the film’s purposefully opaque political commentary.

From Salon

But it is not just great; it is glorious, like something that fell from the pop heavens after months upon years of drought.

From Salon

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan directed federal agencies to give “full attention to public comments” to ensure that any “factual conclusions upon which the rule is based have substantial support.”

From Slate

Cait Borjesson, 60, who has been hooked to the annual livestream since she stumbled upon it during the Covid-19 pandemic, said her TV had been on for 16 straight hours since it began on Tuesday.

From BBC

"It was developed with expert internal and external legal advice, and has also been relied upon in a High Court judgment," a spokesperson said.

From BBC