NYT Dictionary

UPON

/əˈpɑn/
Prepositionup-ONup-on · 2 syllablesGrade 3

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

Meaning

alternative to on in most, though not all, prepositional uses.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Germanic *ub Proto-Germanic *upp Proto-West Germanic *upp Old English upp Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-der. Proto-Germanic *an Proto-West Germanic *ana Old English on Old English uppan Middle English upon English upon From Middle English upon, uppon, uppen, from Old English upon, uppon, uppan (“on, upon, up to, against, after, in addition to”), equivalent to up (“adverb”) + on (“preposition”). Cognate with Old Saxon uppan (“upon”), Old High German ūfan, ūffan (“upon”), Icelandic upp á, upp á (“up on, upon”), Swedish uppå (“up on, upon”) (thence Swedish på), Danish på (“up on, upon”), Norwegian på (“up on, upon”).

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

aboutaboveagainstattendbychoreconcerningdrudgehelphereby

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 9 recorded puzzles:

Join the Spelling Bee Community

Get solving strategies, rare word lists, and puzzle tips in your inbox every week.