onto

1 of 2

preposition

on·​to ˈȯn-(ˌ)tü 

ˈän-

1

: to a position on

We climbed onto the roof.

Turn left onto Fifth Avenue.

2

: in or into a state of awareness about

put me onto your methods

was onto something that should have been pursued further

—Bosley Crowther

3

—used as a function word to indicate a set each element of which is the image of at least one element of another set

a function mapping the set S onto the set T

onto

2 of 2

adjective

: mapping elements in such a way that every element in one set is the image of at least one element in another set

a function that is one-to-one and onto

Examples of onto in a Sentence

Preposition

We climbed onto the building's roof.

The book fell onto the floor.

The water spilled onto the floor.

The cowboy leaped onto his horse.

Transfer the data onto a disk.

Turn left onto Third Street at the traffic light.

Recent Examples on the Web

Preposition

The video showed that during the second time, the dog latched onto Evans’ left forearm and violently thrashed as Evans cried out in pain. —Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026

Prosecutors said that defense attorneys could view the data at a clean computer in the justice center, and that there are an additional 20 to 30 terabytes of raw data across various devices that the district attorney’s office is attempting to transfer onto drives for the singer’s defense team. —Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026

Preliminary investigation indicates the Hyundai was traveling eastbound on Northwest 199th Street and ran a red light, colliding with the bus, which had a green arrow while turning left onto Northwest 7th Avenue, authorities said. —Sergio Candido, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026

There are views onto the peaks of the mountains that march towards Nepal and Tibet on the ancient pilgrimage route to Mt Kailash, the holiest of sites in four religions. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Preposition

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1942, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing onto

• build onto
• fasten onto
• get on/onto the subject of
• get onto
• give onto
• latch onto
• lock onto
• map onto
• onto something
• project onto
• stumble across/on/onto/upon
• voted on/onto

Kids Definition

onto

preposition

on·​to

ˌȯn-tə, 

ˌän-;

ˈȯn-tü, 

ˈän-

1

: to a position on or against

leaped onto the horse

climbed onto the roof

2

: in a state of knowing about or becoming aware of

I'm onto their little game