onto

UK: ˈɒntuː | US: ˈɑːntuː

Definition
  1. prep. 1. Moving to a position on top of or in contact with a surface.

  2. prep. 2. Becoming aware of or informed about something.

  3. prep. 3. (Mathematics) Relating to a function where every element of the codomain is mapped to by some element of the domain.

Structure
on <position>to <direction>
Etymology

The word "onto" emerged in the early 18th century as a contraction of "on to," combining the spatial sense of "on" (from Old English on, meaning "in contact with") and the directional sense of "to" (from Old English , meaning "toward"). It originally emphasized movement toward a surface or position, later expanding to abstract uses in mathematics and figurative contexts.

Examples
  1. The cat jumped onto the table.

  2. She’s onto a new business idea.

  3. The function maps the set A onto set B.

  4. He climbed onto the roof to fix the antenna.

  5. The detective is onto the suspect’s alibi.