Up on or upon?
up on is an adjective meaning “Well-informed concerning”; upon is a preposition meaning “alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses”. Use up on as an adjective and upon as a preposition. up on is written as two words and upon as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between up on and upon?
| up on | upon | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective | preposition |
| Meaning | colloquialWell-informed concerning | alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses |
| Example | The tour guide was certainly up on his history | A vase of flowers stood upon the table. – The painting hangs upon the wall. – All of the responsibility is upon him. – She plays upon a… |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /əˈpɒn/ /əˈpɔn/ /əˈpɑn/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 132 times per million words |
Sources: up on and upon in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of up on and upon
up on
- 1
colloquialWell-informed concerning
The tour guide was certainly up on his history
upon
- 1
alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses
A vase of flowers stood upon the table. – The painting hangs upon the wall. – All of the responsibility is upon him. – She plays upon a violin (or piano). – The lighthouse that…
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, up on or upon?
up on is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; upon 132 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).