# upon

> English word · Preposition · IPA /əˈpɒn/ · frequency rank #798

## Definitions
1. A higher-register or more formal alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *upó
Proto-Germanic *ub
Proto-Germanic *upp
Proto-West Germanic *upp
Old English upp
Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-der.
Proto-Germanic *an
Proto-West Germanic *ana
Old English on
Old English uppan
Middle English upon
English upon
From Middle English upon, uppon, uppen, from Old English upon, uppon, uppan (“on, upon, up to, against, after, in addition to”), equivalent to up (“adverb”) + on (“preposition”). Cognate with Old Saxon uppan (“upon”), Old High German ūfan, ūffan (“upon”), Icelandic upp á, upp á (“up on, upon”), Swedish uppå (“up on, upon”) (thence Swedish på), Danish på (“up on, upon”), Norwegian på (“up on, upon”).

## Easily confused with
- **UPS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/upon-vs-ups)
- **urn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/upon-vs-urn)
- **USO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/upon-vs-uso)
- **Upton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/upon-vs-upton)
- **uptown** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/upon-vs-uptown)
- **up** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/up-vs-upon)
- **UO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/uo-vs-upon)
- **UFO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ufo-vs-upon)
- **uno** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/uno-vs-upon)
- **UPI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/upi-vs-upon)
- **union** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/union-vs-upon)
- **UConn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/uconn-vs-upon)

## Common misspellings (5)
`puon`, `uopn`, `upno`, `uponn`, `uppon`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/upon