dawn on
phrasal verb
dawned on; dawning on; dawns on
: to begin to be understood or realized by (someone) for the first time
The solution finally dawned on him.
It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't eaten all day.
It began to dawn on her that she was lost.
Examples of dawn on in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The magnitude of the moment seemed to dawn on Staley as the confetti rained down on her team after another successful season, breaking down in tears as her championship-winning squad celebrated reaching the mountain top yet again.
—
Ben Morse, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024
New Jersey State Police arrived at the scene before dawn on Wednesday to secure the area for a team of animal care specialists, who examined the dogs and relocated them to safety, according to Platkin.
—Joseph P. Smith, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
While my mind had been racing with potential next steps moments before, this idea hadn't dawned on me.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Apr. 2024
Israeli commandos pulled out before dawn on Monday.
—Lorenzo Tugnoli, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
The fact that there was no fortune appears to have started dawning on Sharma the night that Zac died.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
Yet a sense of loneliness gradually dawns on him as a consequence of the aimless pleasures and social isolation.
—Gregory M. Collins, National Review, 27 Dec. 2023
Now a new plan dawned on her: Why not create her own?
—Laura Meckler, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Aug. 2023
But by the next day, the reality of the situation seemed to dawn on Belosic, who canceled his return flight to California and joined Badalian and Rodriguez on their drive back west.
—Samuel Braslow, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Aug. 2023
Ben Morse, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024
New Jersey State Police arrived at the scene before dawn on Wednesday to secure the area for a team of animal care specialists, who examined the dogs and relocated them to safety, according to Platkin.
—Joseph P. Smith, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
While my mind had been racing with potential next steps moments before, this idea hadn't dawned on me.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Apr. 2024
Israeli commandos pulled out before dawn on Monday.
—Lorenzo Tugnoli, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
The fact that there was no fortune appears to have started dawning on Sharma the night that Zac died.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
Yet a sense of loneliness gradually dawns on him as a consequence of the aimless pleasures and social isolation.
—Gregory M. Collins, National Review, 27 Dec. 2023
Now a new plan dawned on her: Why not create her own?
—Laura Meckler, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Aug. 2023
But by the next day, the reality of the situation seemed to dawn on Belosic, who canceled his return flight to California and joined Badalian and Rodriguez on their drive back west.
—Samuel Braslow, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dawn on.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dawn on
Cite this Entry
“Dawn on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dawn%20on. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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