Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use on in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, adverb, preposition

On means in the state of being active, functioning or operating. Example: “All the lights are on, so they must be home.”

Examples of on by meaning

adjectiveIn the state of being active, functioning or operating.

  • All the lights are on, so they must be home.

adjectiveHappening; taking place; being or due to be put into action.

  • We had to ration our food because there was a war on.
  • Some of the cast went down with flu, but the show's still on.
  • That TV programme that you wanted to watch is on now.

adjectiveOf a person, used to express agreement to or acceptance of a proposal or challenge made by that person; most commonly...

  • "Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!"
  • If he wants a fight, he's on!

adjectiveFitted; covering or being worn.

  • Your feet will soon warm up once your socks are on.
  • I was trying to drink out of the bottle while the top was still on!

adjectiveOf a stated part of something, oriented towards the viewer or other specified direction.

  • The photograph shows the UFO side on.
  • edge on, side on, end on, face on

adjectiveAcceptable, appropriate.

  • It's not fair to do that – it's just not on.
  • This kind of over-packaging of goods is completely not on.1998 May 22, Phoenix Gamma, “If I was owned Nintendo...”, in alt.games.video.nintendo-64 (Usenet)
  • so Simon Nelson saying on Feedback "we'd prefer it if everybody listened to digital radio via DAB" is completely not on at all.2003 August 12, DAB sounds worse than FM, “Gerg Dyke's Speech at Radio Festival”, in alt.radio.digital (Usenet)

adjectivePossible; capable of being successfully carried out.

  • Climbing up that steep ridge isn't on. We'll have to find another route.
  • He'd like to play the red next to the black spot, but that shot isn't on.

adjectiveAvailable; remaining.

  • Smith is 25 points ahead with only 23 on.

More sentences with on

  • My old encyclopedia has been gathering dust on the shelf for the past decade.From the entry encyclopedia
  • The ancient Mesopotamians never got to write an encyclopedia on stone.From the entry encyclopedia
  • I give you my word that I will be there on time.From the entry word
  • I'm running a book on who is going to win the race.From the entry book
  • I wonder how they do this on the other side of the pond.From the entry pond
  • We assign each item inspected a rating from A through G, depending on various factors.From the entry a
  • I was so happy to get an A on that test.From the entry a
  • The teacher asked the students to write a report on current events.From the entry current events
  • They found only minute quantities of chemical residue on his clothing.From the entry minute
  • He withdrew money to his bank account after several years of trading stocks on E-Trade.From the entry trade
  • The restaurant had "Thank you for your patronage!" printed on its take-out bags.From the entry patronage
  • The record companies don't get as good a return on merchandising artists under contract.From the entry merchandise
  • Be careful when you pet that dog on the head; it may bite.From the entry head
  • Many baby girls have been abandoned on the streets of Beijing.From the entry abandon
  • He was abandoned on the island with no one to help him.From the entry abandon
  • Since he left her, she's suing him for divorce on grounds of abandonment.From the entry abandonment
  • The army's raid on the enemy turned into a major abattoir.From the entry abattoir
  • A huge fireworks display was put on in Sydney to celebrate the millennium.From the entry millennium
  • This is the sporty jacket for today's modern man on the go.From the entry today
  • It took the absent-minded man twenty minutes to find his glasses on top of his head.From the entry absent-minded
  • Sorry to spring it on you like this but I've been offered another job.From the entry spring
  • The artist took out her colors and began work on a landscape.From the entry color
  • I rolled the die and moved 2 spaces on the board.From the entry die
  • I was tired enough to snuggle in with the dogs on the couch and sleep there.From the entry in

Meaning of on

  1. adjective In the state of being active, functioning or operating.
  2. adjective Happening; taking place; being or due to be put into action.
  3. adjective Of a person, used to express agreement to or acceptance of a proposal or challenge made by that person; most commonly with subject “you” (see you're on).

Full definition of on

Questions about on in a sentence

How do you use on in a sentence?
On is used as an adjective, adverb and preposition. For example: “All the lights are on, so they must be home.”
What is a short sentence with on?
“If he wants a fight, he's on!”
What does on mean?
On means in the state of being active, functioning or operating.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use on in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/on. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.