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Glite Dictionary
it's on

it's on

165 7.5
Something planned or a challenge that is now sure to happen
  • idiom
  • Informal
: se celebra
  • Hi Drew, fantastic news that it's on again.
  • it's on now
  • it's on Thursday
  • it's on Thursday night

Examples

  • It's on tonight, Rabbit.

    8 Mile (2002)

  • Put Samsung Galaxy S III on your list; it is on sale now.

    Blog text (24)

  • If they decide not to come, then it's on them.

    Ageless Love (2022)

  • Win that one and it's on to the Gold Medal game.

    Blog text (26)

  • So far, it is on schedule and on budget, and set for completion in 2017.

    Blog text (31)

  • You'll get the pennant, then it's on to the Series first pitch.

    Blog text (32)

  • It's on again!

    Maximum Overdrive (1986)

  • We finally made a decision, and now it's on for the big event this weekend.

  • The project was delayed, but now it's on, and we're all excited to start working.

  • After weeks of planning, it's on; the concert will take place next Friday.

Synonyms

on
vsit's on
643 1.0

Planned to happen as scheduled

is more definite that it will happen or has already started
on schedule
vsit's on
124 2.0

Happens at the planned time and is not late

focuses on certainty of occurrence rather than timing
afoot
vsit's on
32 7.2

Happening now or being planned for the near future

is used to state clear certainty or that it has begun
in the offing
vsit's on
9 5.6

Likely to happen soon

states it will definitely occur or has already started

Antonyms

to postpone
214 3.4

To delay something until a later time because of a problem

How Certain

it's on
  • Informal
165 7.5
probably
∞ 1.0
maybe
∞ 1.0
unconfirmed
  • Literature
33 4.2

Surface Forms

it's on main

Morphology

it's + on

The meaning is compositionally derivable: 'it' points to the event or plan and 'on' here has the familiar adjectival sense 'happening/confirmed', so a B1 learner who knows that sense of 'on' will read 'it's on' as 'it is happening/confirmed'. This predicative pattern is common in English (and parallels exist cross‑linguistically), so the expression is transparently built from its constituents.

Etymology

The phrase it's on may come from shows or games: when the lights or a bell go on, the event starts. So when someone says it's on today, they mean 'it's happening' or 'I accept the challenge'.