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Glite Dictionary
to send on

to send on

13 3.2
To forward something to its final place
  • phrasal verb
  • /sɛnd ɑn/
translation icon : reenviar
  • Will you have Sarah pack a bag for me and send it on to the Olympic City Hotel?

And I went, so you're going to send him on vacation?

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Examples

  • In May of 1959, he was sent on a five-week tour by USIA.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Please pack the documents and send on the package to my office.

  • And then we can send him on his way back home.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "No, the application has not been sent on, but now it will be."

    Blog text (28)

  • Whatever hits you have, send them on.

    The Bourne Legacy (2012)

  • The Plus Edition newsletter will be sent on Monday, one day later than usual.

    Blog text (28)

  • When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way.

    Drive-By Truckers: The Secret to a Happy Ending (2011)

  • Ruth and Jeff had promised to have it cleaned and sent on to him.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Letters, flats, and packages that enter a postal facility have to be sorted and sent on their way fast.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Everyone just smiled at us, gave us our "I voted early" sticker, and sent us on our way.

    Blog text (21)

Synonyms

to send
vsto send on
∞ 1.0

Make a letter, package, or email go to another person

specifies passing through an intermediate point rather than any delivery
to send out
vsto send on
376 1.8

Cause something to go to other people or places

is about passing through an intermediate point rather than mass distribution
to transmit
vsto send on
169 3.7

To send something from one thing to another, for example a message or disease

refers to moving through an intermediate stop toward a final address
to forward
vsto send on
128 2.5

To send mail, messages, or packages on to a new address

is the broader phrase for moving items through an intermediate point
to relay
vsto send on
102 3.5

To receive and then pass on a message or signal

does the same transfer but without stressing prior receipt
to send off
vsto send on
9 2.9

To post or email something to another place

moves items through an intermediate point toward their intended place
to send away
vsto send on
6 1.9

Make something go to another place by post

focuses on movement via an intermediate point to final destination
to fwd
vsto send on
  • Texting
6.5

To send someone a message you received

covers the same onward transfer but across any medium

Antonyms

to hold back
187 3.2

Stop someone or something from moving forward

How Direct

to deliver
933 1.0
to send on
13 3.2
to pass on
134 2.7

Surface Forms

send on infinitive
sent on past
sent on past participle
sending on present participle
sends on third person singular

Morphology

send + on

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'send' (to cause something to go) plus 'on' (onward/forward), yielding the sense 'forward or pass along to the next destination'. This verb+particle pattern is a common, predictable phrasal-verb construction and is likely inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The phrasal verb send on comes from the old work of the post office, where a letter that reached a middle office would be sent on to the next stop on its way. That's why today send on means 'to forward something from an intermediate point to its intended destination'.