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Glite Dictionary
on file

on file

43 2.7
Information that an office or school keeps in an official record
  • idiom
  • Formal
translation icon : archivado
  • She had an address on file from being a paid member.
  • kept on file
  • records on file
  • documents on file

You want, you want to use the card you have on file Done.

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Examples

  • The school keeps all student records on file for future reference.

  • Yale has everyone's job applications on file.

    The Only Witness (2003)

  • I need a card on file.

    Challengers (2024)

  • We have your insurance on file.

    Take Shelter (2011)

  • Got an address on file?

    Dracula's Guest (2008)

  • An easier way is to review the emergency cards on file in the main office.

    Academic text (1996)

  • As concerns this case, I think my complaint on file is pretty clear.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • We compared what you gave us with the sample we had on file in the lab.

    Junior (1994)

  • Documentation for each participant was on file in the support program's offices.

    Academic text (2014)

  • We've already got his thumbprint on file.

    My Mom's New Boyfriend (2008)

Synonyms

record
vson file
∞ 2.5

A paper or file that gives information about past events

is the status of being stored within an official organized collection
document
vson file
∞ 2.0

A paper or electronic file that gives official information

is specifically about being kept within an official organized collection rather than being any item
in the books
vson file
11 4.8

Officially finished and recorded, for example a deal or decision

is entered for storage but not always completed or finalized
written record
vson file
5 3.4

A document that keeps proof of facts or events

is about being kept in organized official holdings rather than its physical format
written document
vson file
  • Formal
3 2.5

A formal paper that gives information or records facts

is stored in an organized official collection rather than described by formality of writing
written account
vson file
1 3.2

A paper that describes events so people can read about them later

is the condition of being stored in an official organized collection rather than narrative form

Antonyms

off the record
  • Literature
87 6.8

Said to a reporter that is not for publication

How Recorded

archive
264 4.1
on file
  • Formal
43 2.7
recordable
  • Formal
4.4

Surface Forms

on file main

Morphology

on + file

The meaning 'kept or recorded' follows directly from 'on' (indicating location/status) + 'file' (a collection of documents): something 'on file' is simply in/recorded in a file. This locative/compositional pattern is common across languages and standard in English, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

On file may come from old offices where people put a paper on a person's file folder to keep it safe. That's why when something is on file today, it means it is 'kept' in official records.