dawn on

Idioms  

1. Also, dawn upon. Become evident or understood, as in It finally dawned on him that he was expected to call them, or Around noon it dawned upon me that I had never eaten breakfast. This expression transfers the beginning of daylight to the beginning of a thought process. Harriet Beecher Stowe had it in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852): “The idea that they had either feelings or rights had never dawned upon her.” [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

Spence said given the in-depth nature of the questioning she did not think it was appropriate to have Timothy's mother, Dawn, on the call for more than three hours.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

On any given day, you can spot Dawn on her bike, sometimes not even pedaling, but being pulled by her neighbor’s big dog that she is "walking."

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2024

Corona always has a backup bottle of Dawn on hand, though, which she uses for stains and other cleaning emergencies.

From Washington Post • Sep. 30, 2021

To put flawed Dawn on display, for everyone to see, always messing up — it’s just frustrating and it’s painful to watch.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2021

Dawn on the Karoo more than compensates for its fearsome nights and torrid noontides.

From Blue Aloes Stories of South Africa by Stockley, Cynthia

Related Words

• affect
• carry
• get
• hit
• move
• reach
• touch