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up·on [ ə pón ] CORE MEANING: means the same as "on," but is more formal
 He stretched out his legs upon the sofa.
 She climbed upon her father's knee. |
preposition |
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| Definition: |
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1. on surface: on or onto the surface of something
(
formal
)
 The great beast bounced to a halt upon the parapet.
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2. one after another: used between two occurrences of the same noun to indicate a large amount or number of that noun
 They claimed that the report contained "innuendo upon innuendo."
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3. followed by: used to indicate that one event is followed immediately by another event
 Upon finding the relevant text, they stored it in their own electronic files.
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4. about to happen: used to indicate that an event is imminent
 The holidays are upon us again.
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| [12th century. <up + on; after Old Norse upp á] |