to be on to
54
6.8
- phrasal verb
- Informal
- The detective was on to the suspect's plan to flee the city.
- be on to others
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Watch on YouTubeThey notice the shifts and they notice that people are on to them.
- They notice the shifts and they notice that people are on to them.
- So another team of officers, now a completely different unit, they are on to him and his activity.
- You know, your children are on to you in the exact same way you are on to your parents.
- It's just that when I did have it in those years, I knew I was on to something.
- Yeah, but you might be on to something because they were pretty high up when they dropped those carrots.
- So remember this graduates, when people start telling you that you're crazy, you just might be on to the most important innovation in your life.
- In that note, he cried wolf so many times that now that he actually is on to the biggest thing that's ever happened, no one believes him.
- Little did Bernoulli know, he was on to something much bigger.
- It's because the audience is on to the bullshit that is the mainstream press, so-called mainstream, the corporate press, dying media.
- But Hegel is on to something here.
- But in in the main, we can say that Camus is is on to something here.
- And that's when I knew I was on to something.
Examples
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The police are on to me.
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I thought for sure he was on to us.
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So another team of officers, now a completely different unit, they are on to him and his activity.
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The cops are on to Ray.
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I think you might be on to something.
Academic text (2013) -
Little did Bernoulli know, he was on to something much bigger.
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But Hegel is on to something here.
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You've been affected, but we're on to them now, so we can keep an eye on you.
Fiction book (1997) -
So any reasonable person would say you're on to something big.
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But one anomaly suggests that the researchers are on to something here.
Blog text (27)
Synonyms
442
5.3
To become aware of a secret or plan
9
4.8
Thinking you have found an important idea or clue
How Aware
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to be aware of or have discovered someone's intentions' is not directly derivable from the literal senses of 'be' + 'on' + 'to' (where 'on' is mainly locative and 'to' is a preposition). There is a weak metaphorical link (being 'on to' someone = 'on the trail of' or moving toward discovery) and the item functions like a particle-verb construction, so the relation is partially transparent but not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Be on to may come from the picture of a dog following a scent, being on the trail and about to catch its prey. So, if someone 'is on to' you, they are close to finding out your secret or plan.