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
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hit (upon)
Verb
-
Police found a firearm in the vehicle, the release says.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Oct. 2025 -
The child was found by her mother three hours later, with internal vehicle temperatures having reached over 108 degrees.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Following the spiritual moment, the King and Queen encountered a group of schoolchildren from the local primary school, Scuola Primaria San Paolo - Istituto Figlie di Cristo, who were waiting to greet them outside the Papal Basilica.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
-
These clogs are technically designed as recovery shoes for long-distance runners—Kaufman first encountered them in a running store in Madison, Wisconsin.—
Alaina Chou,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Hit (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hit%20%28upon%29. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share