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

“By opening up some of these neighborhoods — to some new housing — we would actually be making steps towards undoing the city’s patterns of segregation that in many cases policymakers imposed upon this city,” Councilmember Nithya Raman told the committee.

From Los Angeles Times

It's clear that the tag team of Stephen Miller and Tom Homan are prepared to initiate Trump's mass deportation program immediately upon taking office.

From Salon

Should the Democrats succeed with most or all of the nominations, Trump will have around just 20 judicial vacancies to fill upon assuming office in January.

From Salon

At the start of the conference the EU published a letter - now supported by 17 countries - which says "our ability to address the climate crisis hinges upon our commitment to the empowerment of women and girls, in all their diversity."

From BBC

It impressed upon me the enormity of Labour’s task.

From BBC