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 WebMark Gray, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024
The filing also shows Zhang has held onto his shares over the past year, since TikTok’s CEO revealed his boss’s stake of around 20% during a Congressional hearing.
—Zheping Huang, Fortune Asia, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for onto 
Preposition
His daughters, Sunday, 15, and Faith, 13, weren’t even the ones to turn him onto Grande’s song either.
—Mark Gray, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024
The filing also shows Zhang has held onto his shares over the past year, since TikTok’s CEO revealed his boss’s stake of around 20% during a Congressional hearing.
—Zheping Huang, Fortune Asia, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for onto
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'onto.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near onto
Cite this Entry
“Onto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/onto. Accessed 11 May. 2024.
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