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
Bosley Crowther3
—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
: 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
Eliana Dockterman, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
Graves was called for interference and with time ticking away on the man advantage, Kucherov emerged from the tunnel, hopped onto the ice and put the puck behind Nedeljkovic with eight seconds remaining on the power play.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Rivera squeezed detergent from two laundry pods onto the raccoon’s head, police said.
—Don Sweeney, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025
Add Filling Spoon about 3/4 cup of the purple ube batter onto prepared crust; spread it to the edge of pan using the back of a spoon.
—Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for onto
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show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Preposition
But in the show, Abby accidentally sets loose a horde of infected onto the city, probably for the sake of adding an extra action set piece early in the season.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
Graves was called for interference and with time ticking away on the man advantage, Kucherov emerged from the tunnel, hopped onto the ice and put the puck behind Nedeljkovic with eight seconds remaining on the power play.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Rivera squeezed detergent from two laundry pods onto the raccoon’s head, police said.
—Don Sweeney, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025
Add Filling Spoon about 3/4 cup of the purple ube batter onto prepared crust; spread it to the edge of pan using the back of a spoon.
—Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for onto
Cite this Entry
“Onto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/onto. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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