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

See Examples For:

dawn on

The explosion, which occurred at dawn on Friday in the popular Plaka district filled with tourist lodgings, was likely caused by a gas leak, according to the capital's mayor, Haris Doukas.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Before dawn on Sept. 8, thieves in southern France broke into what was Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s last home, now a museum, and escaped with two of his paintings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

At dawn on 24 April, officers raided Greer's family home in what was described as a "day of executive action".

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Tell me, Christopher Nolan, when did it first rosy-fingered dawn on you that your favorite type of protagonist — a tormented sinner-hero — was a specialty of the ancient Greeks?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

“We managed to catch one,” said Gawaine, the wonder of their achievement beginning to dawn on him.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• affect
• carry
• get
• hit
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• reach
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