hit upon
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Taking a cue from the festivities at Somerset House, he hit upon the idea of throwing a masked party to subsidize the theater.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Frank Epperson accidentally hit upon his innovation at the ripe old age of 11.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
She hit upon the premise for the series right around her 27th birthday, a time when more and more of her friends began to get married, and developed the idea while working on other projects.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
It was at the university that the two first hit upon the idea of studying smelly shoes.
From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025
It was annoying that he had hit upon an old identity and I shook my head, seeing him purse his lips and eye me sharply.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.