From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhave on1 WEAR CLOTHES have (got) something on to be wearing a piece of clothing or type of clothing He had his best suit on. Jimmy had nothing on but his socks.2 USE/CONSUME have (got) the TV/radio/washing machine etc on if you have your television, radio etc on, you have switched it on and it is working Billie has the radio on all day long.3 JOKING/NOT SERIOUS be having somebody on especially British English to be trying to make someone believe something that is not true, especially as a joke Don’t believe a word he says. He’s having you on!4 BUSY/HAVE A LOT TO DO have (got) something on British English to have arranged to do something, go somewhere etc, especially when this means you cannot do something else Sorry, I can’t help you this weekend – I’ve got too much on already.5 KNOW something have (got) something on somebody to know about something bad that someone has done What do the police have on him?6 WORSE have (got) nothing on somebody/something informal to not be nearly as good as someone or something else Rock ‘n’ roll has got nothing on these African rhythms. → have→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
have on• Could you read this for me? I don't have my glasses on.• That's Jenny Salton over there; she has a blue dress on.• "What was she wearing?" "I think she had on a dark suit."• Why do you always have the TV on so loud?had nothing on• She went to the stove, though she had nothing on.• Samson had nothing on Ayrton down at the barbers.• Old Ma Grace had nothing on the lass from Junagadh.• The library had nothing on the shelves but the floor was littered with volumes open and lying face down.• Halley had nothing on these Fox guys.• It was delightfully obvious that she had nothing on under her dress but her pale peachy skin.• From that moment Pollyanna had nothing on us: we always had something to be glad about.• You had nothing on you, and a reasonable story.be having somebody on• All this is having an effect on advertisers.• New technology is having an impact on aerial photography in different ways.• Our 1985-6 pilot study suggested that coordinators were having to take on more roles than they could cope with.• Gary Johnson to an array of liberals, and they are having an impact on public opinion.• At any rate Joan and I were having no problems on that score.• Once again, it appears that the nature of the available remedies is having some effect on the character of the diagnosis.• Once again, Orlando is having trouble winning on the road.• Carlisle Flint are having problems on the test circuit.have (got) something on• The company has undergone an extensive reorganization since then, so the numbers have changed.• We have been on a very high state of alert.• Indeed an inquiry of this sort should not, in my view, have been conducted on adversarial lines at all.• Maybe Desert Storm should have gone on at least to Basrah, if not indeed to Baghdad.• Expatriates should also take into account any fees that they will have to pay on buying a home.• All we have to go on is what other societies do.• Readers of the Financial Times will have noted reports on the forming of major and powerful consortia.• It's thought around 70 travellers have been living on the site for several weeks.have (got) something on somebody• The company has undergone an extensive reorganization since then, so the numbers have changed.• We have been on a very high state of alert.• Indeed an inquiry of this sort should not, in my view, have been conducted on adversarial lines at all.• Maybe Desert Storm should have gone on at least to Basrah, if not indeed to Baghdad.• Expatriates should also take into account any fees that they will have to pay on buying a home.• All we have to go on is what other societies do.• Readers of the Financial Times will have noted reports on the forming of major and powerful consortia.• It's thought around 70 travellers have been living on the site for several weeks.have (got) nothing on somebody/something• He realized she must have nothing on.• Where that girl is concerned I have nothing on my conscience.• When it comes to conniving, deceptive control freaks, ex-boyfriends have nothing on record companies.• Another time she seemed to have nothing on under a grass skirt as she danced on a mirrored floor.• She seemed to have nothing on underneath, which made the wheel in my stomach behave in an entirely crazy fashion. 