as in to find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance
the popular belief that Sir Isaac Newton hit upon his understanding of gravity at the sight of an apple falling from a tree
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hit (upon)
Verb
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The factors that influence GDP growth are labor and productivity, and the Gulf already has an edge in finding workers — both expats and a young local population.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
9 Oct. 2025 -
The team found that actual methane and nitrous oxide emissions from these facilities were far higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s estimates.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Phillies play reliever roulette Righty David Robertson entered when Cristopher Sánchez encountered trouble in the sixth, putting away pinch hitter Max Muncy, a lefty batter.—
Charlotte Varnes,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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There he was flabbergasted to discover video footage of a woman wearing a dark Balenciaga sack dress on the streets of Paris in the ’50s, encountering curiosity and visible scorn.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
4 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hit (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hit%20%28upon%29. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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