How do you use the word "upon" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "upon": You must not look upon him as great. You insist upon our taking that course of action.

Upon Meaning

/əˈpɒn/

Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

prepA higher-register or more formal alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses.

Sentence Examples

You must not look upon him as great.

You insist upon our taking that course of action.

Sir Herbert took it upon himself to act as chairman.

CEFR Practice Quiz

The cat jumped quietly ____ the table and knocked over a vase.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

Once ____ a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a large and magnificent castle in the woods today.

Word Origin & History

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”).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …" — 1899, Hughes Mearns, Antigonish:

"No news of them? Why, so: and I know not what's spend in the search: why thou loss upon loss! the thief gone with so much, and so much to find the thief; and no satisfaction, no revenge: nor no ill luck stirring but what lights on my shoulders; no sighs but of my breathing; no tears but of my shedding." — c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

"The drums play on The year of the dog is upon us." — 2023, Patricia Taxxon, “DEDGDEDCEGEOGCGHCOCTOHOTHTHT”, in TECHDOG:

"Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited." — 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

"Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence." — 1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter I (Anarchy), page 373, column 2:

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