man on

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrasesportinformal

   A warning in sports that an opposing player is very close and about to tackle or challenge you.

   Grammar: Used as a short shout or comment, often with no subject or verb: 'Man on!' It does not change form.

   Patterns

   • shout 'man on'
   • man on!
   • he had a man on

   The defender shouted 'Man on!' just as the winger turned.

   He lost the ball because he didn't hear the call of 'man on' from his teammate.

   With a man on, she passed quickly to avoid the tackle.

2. 2phrasecountablesportBritish

   In cricket, a fielding position on the leg side near the batter, or the fielder in that position.

   Grammar: In this cricket sense it can be countable: 'a man on' or 'two men on'.

   Patterns

   • field at man on
   • a man on
   • move to man on

   The captain placed a man on for the left-handed batter.

   He took a brilliant catch at man on.

3. 3phrasefixed phraseinformal

   Informal: a man is coming, present, or available, depending on context.

   Grammar: Used in casual speech, often as a warning or announcement: 'Man on the left!' or 'There's a man on the phone for you.'

   Patterns

   • man on the phone
   • man on the door
   • man on the left

   There's a man on the phone asking for you.

   Man on the left! Watch out.

   We've got a man on the door checking tickets.

Common combinations

shout 'man on'

The goalkeeper shouted 'man on' to warn his defender.

have a man on

He had a man on, so he played the ball back to the keeper.

man on the post

They kept a man on the post during the corner.

Synonyms and how they differ

marker

A marker is the player assigned to watch you; 'man on' is the warning that this player is close.

opponent

An opponent is any player on the other team; 'man on' specifically means one is right next to you.

Word family

man-mark verb

To stay very close to a particular opposing player to stop them.

man-to-man adjective

Describing a defense where each player guards one opponent.

Commonly confused: man on or man on the moon?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “man on”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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