onto

preposition

to a place or position on; upon; on: to get onto a horse.

Informal. in or into a state of awareness about: I'm onto your scheme.

adjective

Also, surjective. Mathematics. pertaining to a function or map from one set to another set, the range of which is the entire second set.

Origin:
1575–85; on + to

Can be confused: on, onto, on to.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

a combining form meaning “being,” used in the formation of compound words: ontogeny.

Also, especially before a vowel, ont-.

Origin:
< Neo-Latin < Greek ont- (stem of ón, neuter present participle of eînai to be) + -o- -o-

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To onto

Relevant Questions

How To Get Onto Myspace

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Onto is always a great word to know.

So is gobo. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

onto or on to (ˈɒntʊ, (unstressed) ˈɒntə, ˈɒntʊ, (unstressed) ˈɒntə)

—*prep*
1.	to a position that is on: step onto the train as it passes
2.	having become aware of (something illicit or secret): the police are onto us
3.	into contact with: get onto the factory

usage Onto is now generally accepted as a word in its own right. On to is still used, however, where on is considered to be part of the verb: he moved on to a different town as contrasted with he jumped onto the stage

on to or on to

—*prep*

usage Onto is now generally accepted as a word in its own right. On to is still used, however, where on is considered to be part of the verb: he moved on to a different town as contrasted with he jumped onto the stage

onto-

—*combining form*
	existence or being: ontogeny; ontology

[from Late Greek, from ōn (stem ont-) being, present participle of einai to be]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

onto

1581, as on to, from on + to. Appeared much later than parallel into. As a closed compound (on analogy of into), first recorded 1715.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

onto- or ont-
pref.
Organism; being: ontogeny.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

onto (so/sth) definition

mod.
alerted to or aware of a deceitful plan or person. : Wilmer thought he was safe, but the fuzz was onto him from the beginning.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary