Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use upon in a sentence

40 example sentences · preposition

Upon means alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses. Example: “Bequests and legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets.”

Examples of upon by meaning

prepositionAlternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses.

  • Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence.1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew]...
  • But as they were upon going forth, a trumpet was sounded without, three strident blasts.1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 7

More sentences with upon

  • Bequests and legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets.From the entry abate
  • Queen Victoria sat upon the throne of England for 63 years.From the entry throne
  • The cannons were wheeled around to bear upon the advancing troops.From the entry bear
  • Though Islam allows polygamy, it is frowned upon in many contemporary Muslim societies.From the entry polygamy
  • He chanced upon a kindly stranger who showed him the way.From the entry chance
  • The effect of the medication is dependent upon age, gender, and other factors.From the entry gender
  • Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a beautiful princess.From the entry once upon a time
  • I am aggrieved at the conditions which have been forced upon me.From the entry aggrieved
  • Any charge which has a crown immediately above or upon it, is said to be ensigned.From the entry ensign
  • Once upon a time a little princess lived with her mother in a lonely castle.From the entry -ed
  • Saul drew his sword, And ran even upon the ord. — Cursor Mundi.From the entry ord
  • His conduct brought him into odium, or, brought odium upon him.From the entry odium
  • The college has conferred an honorary degree upon the visiting Prime Minister.From the entry confer
  • The success of his undertaking is contingent upon events which he cannot control.From the entry contingent
  • The committee’s decision is worthless and not going to be acted upon.From the entry worthless
  • A lintel or beam may have four inches of bearing upon the wall.From the entry bearing
  • It is hoped that many criminals, upon being freed, will eventually reform.From the entry reform
  • The sledge ran far better upon the ice; I cannot say the same for the dogs.From the entry sledge
  • Upon closer inspection, the animal turned out to be a dolphin, not a shark!From the entry inspection
  • My neighbour descended upon me just as I was walking out the door.From the entry descend
  • An incisive producer, who expressed vehement disapproval with my pitch upon my first sentence.From the entry incisive
  • A stately dowager entered the ballroom, and all eyes were upon her.From the entry dowager
  • We were totally crushed upon hearing the news of your accident.From the entry crushed
  • His infamous behaviour only redounded back upon him when he was caught.From the entry redound
  • The band’s sophomore album built upon the success of their debut release, catapulting them to megastardom.From the entry sophomore
  • After being called upon, he strode deliberately up to the blackboard.From the entry deliberately
  • We were ready to embark upon our journey now the vessel was rigged.From the entry rigged
  • During the Korean Conflict, American soldiers were deloused with DDT upon entering basic training.From the entry delouse
  • My attainment of proficiency in German was due to years upon years of study.From the entry attainment
  • Elmo looked upon his only granddaughter with kindliness, and often relented to her demands for chocolate.From the entry kindliness
  • Some religious sects frown upon any games of chance, even if no gambling is involved.From the entry game of chance
  • He complained he felt like a second-class citizen, but everyone felt put upon that day.From the entry second-class
  • In this time of economic hardship, there is only sufferation upon the land.From the entry sufferation
  • An argument hinges upon entailment whereas an if-then sentence hinges upon implication.From the entry entailment
  • The infundibulate Bryozoa have a circular arrangement of the tentacles upon the disk.From the entry infundibulate
  • “Please pull forward and pay at the drive-through,” said the attendant upon taking my order.From the entry drive-through
  • Decorative tilework typically takes the form of mosaic upon the walls, floor, or ceiling of a building.From the entry tilework
  • The executability of his command would depend upon the remaining strength and stamina of the men.From the entry executability

Meaning of upon

  1. preposition Alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses.

Full definition of upon

Questions about upon in a sentence

How do you use upon in a sentence?
Upon is used as a preposition. For example: “Bequests and legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets.”
What is a short sentence with upon?
“After being called upon, he strode deliberately up to the blackboard.”
What does upon mean?
Upon means alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: upon (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 upon in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/upon. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.