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Glite Dictionary
on-the-scene

on-the-scene

201 4.2
At the place where something is happening or has just happened
  • adjective
  • /ˈɑn ðə sin/
  • Literature
translation icon : sobre el terreno
  • First officer on the scene is over there.
  • an on-the-scene reporter
  • first on-the-scene
  • arrive on-the-scene

And Nike was very new on the scene right then.

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Examples

  • We have police officers on the scene and federal agents.

    Above the Law (1988)

  • The presence of the media on the scene also proved to be a crowd-control problem.

    Academic text (1994)

  • But one of the reasons why so few people died was because of the incredible response from people who were on the scene right away.

  • You were the first to arrive on the scene?

    Bloodletting (1997)

  • Because the first federal officials to arrive on the scene were also eager to talk to Jim.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • We do know forensics are on the scene.

    The Invisible (2007)

  • The Nassau County authorities are on the scene.

    Final Destination (2000)

  • The SWAT team appeared on the scene and went into the control room.

    The China Syndrome (1979)

  • At 5 a.m., when Bonn and his team arrived on the scene, they stared in shock.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The emergency responders were on-the-scene within minutes of the accident.

Synonyms

on-site
vson-the-scene
56 3.4

At the place where the work happens

applies specifically to being at an event location rather than any workplace
in-person
vson-the-scene
15 2.7

People are in the same place instead of online

refers specifically to being at the event location rather than mere physical presence
on-the-spot
vson-the-scene
5 4.5

Happening immediately at the place where something is happening

focuses on a person being physically present at the event location

How Present

on-the-scene
  • Literature
201 4.2
nearby
325 1.0
absent
139 1.0

Surface Forms

on-the-scene positive

Morphology

on-the-scene = the + scene (transparent) = on + the + scene

The adjective is a literal adjectival form of the locative phrase 'on the scene' meaning present at the location, which is directly inferable from its parts. [Postprocessing: moved 'on' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

The phrase on-the-scene comes from the word scene, which means 'the place where something happens', like a 'movie scene' or a 'crime scene'. So if someone is on-the-scene, they are right there at the location of the event, giving help or a report.