Meanings
- AustraliaIrelandUKinformalUnacceptable or impossible.
It's just not on. We can't go breaking into another lawyer's office. I mean . . . it's just not something you can do.
1998, James P. Hogan, chapter 24, in Bug Park2 more examples
A feature of a situation may be influencing us although we do not realize it. From the agent's point of view the motivational power and direction of a consideration may not even be recognized. We often do not know why certain choices are just not on, and others so strangely attractive.
1998, Simon Blackburn, Ruling Passions: A Theory of Practical Reasoning, page 1242003, Dan Connell (author), Lionel Cliffe and Basil Davidson (introduction), Taking on the Superpowers: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution, 1976-1982, page 325, After a week or so, he and I determined that walking hundreds of miles behind guerrilla lines under these conditions was just not on for him, and he packed his equipment to return home.
Cite this entry
not on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20on
“not on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20on. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “not on,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20on.
Source: not on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.