On

Wearing clothes

Probably everybody knows the verb put on for clothes. There are other verbs that follow the same pattern. Notice how the verbs pull on, slip on and throw on emphasize the idea of putting the clothes on quickly. It's also used, of course, for accesories or anything else you can wear.

fling on	She threw the book on the sofa, flung on her jacket, and left.
get on	Amanda, I need your help getting the dress on.
have on	Do you usually remember what people have on at parties?
jam on	Casey jammed on her hat and followed him outside into the street.
keep on	I'm glad I've kept my coat on because it's freezing cold.
pull on	Not wasting any time, she pulled on the coat and left for home.
put on	Don't put that tie on. It's completely out of fashion.
slip on	I knew the temperature would drop, so I slipped on the sweater I had with me.
strap on	I strapped on my skis and began the descent.
throw on	She looked at his watch and sighed, throwing on his coat and running in the direction of the stairs.
try on	If you would like to try on the dress, we have some changing rooms over there.

Beginning

Making something start. Sometimes it means start using a machine or electric appliance.

bring on	Many nervous breakdowns are brought on by stress.
cast on	As a starting point, cast on 10 stitches. Knit the first row. Knit the second row. Keep knitting until the fabric is long enough to circle your head.
catch on	Laserdisc never really caught on with the mass market.
clock on	All employees were made to clock on and off each time they took a break.
come on	I think I've got a headache coming on.
come on to	We will be coming on to that issue a bit later on.
cotton on	They are beginning to cotton on to the usefulness of using computerised graphics.
embark on	He left the company to embark on a new business venture.
get on	Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
get on to	Check your map and get on to the M4 motorway towards Liverpool in southwest Sydney.
go on	As soon as the lights go on, you feel very Christmassy and really start to get into the spirit of things.
grow on	I've listened to the CD about 15 times now, and I must say, it grows on you every time.
have on	I love to listen to music, so I always have the radio on or CDs spinning in my stereo.
jam on	No matter what kind of brakes you have, if your car begins to skid, do not jam on the brakes.
latch on to	They latched on to the economic issue and began to push it really hard.
log on	In most cases, you will need to log on to this website before using the online services.
pop on	Why don't I pop the kettle on?
sign on	Once you sign on you will have access to all areas of the site for which you have permission.
slam on	The driver slammed on the accelerator and the van tore off into the distance.
stick on	Stick the kettle on, will you?
switch on	- The machine doesn't work! - That's because you haven't switched it on!
turn on	People turn on the television to keep them company and to keep them from thinking.

Arrangements

put on	The museum is putting on an exhibition of dinosaurs.
lay on	They have kindly laid on food, beer and entertainment for us.
be on	The film is on at the local cinema.
have on	The show they have on at the moment is hilarious.

Continue

bang on	Why do you keep banging on about this?
blabber on	What on earth are you blabbering on about?
blunder on	They are blundering on from crisis to crisis.
carry on	I hope my sons will one day be able to carry on the tradition.
cling on	He is an illegitimate president who is clinging on to power.
crack on	They have decided to crack on with the project as soon as possible.
drag on	Legal battles can drag on for years.
drone on	The speech droned on for what seemed like ages.
follow on	To follow on from my last post, today we had some great news.
get on	I must get on or I'll never get this finished.
get on with	Get on with your homework!
go on	How long is this gonna go on for?
grind on	The bad news is that the fighting will continue as the talks grind on.
hand on	The business was handed on from father to son for four generation.
hang on	Could you hang on a minute?
harp on	We're not going to get anywhere by harping on about the past.
hold on	All our lines are busy at the moment. Please, hold on.
hold on to	I will probably hold on to the job and see how it goes.
keep on	Everyone kept on talking about how great it was.
limp on	The conversation limped on for a while.
linger on	Some doubts still linger on.
live on	Martin Luther King's dream lives on 40 years after his death.
move on	The council does not have any power to move beggars on.
pass on	I'll pass on your compliments to the chef.
play on	The referee made the decision to play on.
plod on	I'm going to plod on with my plan and try to ignore the negative comments.
plough on	It wasn't the reaction she had hoped for, but she ploughed on regardless.
prattle on	What the hell is Sara prattling on about?
press on	Do not press on regardless. In bad or deteriorating conditions head for lower ground.
push on	I should push on with this work - the boss wants it by 3 p.m.
rabbit on	He's always rabbiting on about how awful the government is.
rage on	The debate raged on for several days.
ramble on	My teacher tends to ramble on a bit.
rattle on	The list is endless and I could rattle on for hours.
roll on	The crowd increased as the session rolled on.
rumble on	The debate that he started rumbles on.
run on	The concert ran on longer than expected.
sell on	It was bought to be sold on straight away at a profit.
send on	When she sends me the photographs I'll send them on to you.
soldier on	We have no choice but to soldier on.
stagger on	The band staggered on for two more years, just long enough to release one last record.
stay on	I left school and got a job in a bank but my sister stayed on to do A-levels.
struggle on	The company struggled on for some time, but eventually had to close.
wave on	We showed our paperwork and they waved us on.
wear on	As the day wore on, it got quite windy and rainy.
witter on	What are you wittering on about?

At work

clock on	All employees were made to clock on and off each time they took a break.
keep on	She's doing a fine job. I'm happy to keep her on.
sign on	Staff sign on with a card
take on	The company is doing so well that we'll have to take on more staff.

Attaching, holding, adding

add on	They can be quite expensive by the time you've added on border taxes.
batten on	Some of his relatives took advantage of him and battened on him like leeches.
catch on	The idea is catching on fast.
cotton on
glue on
hang on
hold on
hook on
join on
latch on	Mothers should ensure the baby is latched on properly.
lock on
pile on	His lawyers and lobbyists will be piling on the pressure.
pin on
put on
slap on	A good manicure involves more than just slapping on a coat of paint.
stick on
tag on

Making progress; developing

bring on	Many nervous breakdowns are brought on by stress.
cheer on	Parents from both teams were cheering on their kids.
come on	How's dinner coming on? I'm starving.
draw on
egg on	Don't egg him on, he's already bad enough!
get on	After a few problems at first, he's getting on well at his new school.
get on for
goad on	He goaded them on with insults.
lead on	She's a user and not a real friend. A real friend wouldn't have led you on, knowing you had feelings for her.
move on	It's all history now. It's time we all moved on.
spur on	I'm so proud of what I've achieved and hope my success spurs other people on.
step on
urge on
wind on

Transport

get on	The bus was full. We couldn't get on.
jump on	I arrived just in time to jump on the train as it was leaving.
hop on	We hopped on the first train that arrived