Holding on to/onto a rope

[GoodTaste]

Are "holding on to a rope" and "holding onto a rope" interchangeable? There seems to be a nuance that I can't tell.

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Rappelling: the act of going down a very steep slope by holding on to a rope that is fastened to the top of the slope.

Source: Cambridge Dictionary

 

[jutfrank]

When on is a dependent particle of a phrasal verb rather than an independent preposition, then don't connect it to the following to.

hold on = This is a phrasal verb, of which the particle on is an integral part of the structure and meaning.

hold on to the rope :tick:
hold onto the rope :cross: