harp on

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle on

Usefulness

Meanings

1

Talk repeatedly and tiresomely

Continuationraredisapproving

Why “on”? An action, event, state, or path continues or moves to a later point.

Why do you keep harping on about my old mistakes?
Why do you keep talking about my old mistakes again and again?
He keeps harping on about the broken gate.
He keeps talking about the broken gate again and again.

Test yourself

Why do you keep harping on about my old mistakes? What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.

Sink In app icon

Sink In — iOS & Android

Practice “harp on” in Sink In

Drill “harp on” and 1,300+ other phrasal verbs with spaced repetition, organised by the particle patterns that connect them.

  • Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
  • Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
  • Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
1,300+ phrasal verbs26 particle patternsBuilt for B1–C2
Sink In daily spaced-repetition practice session