dawn on (someone), to
dawn (up)on someone
Fig. [for a fact] to become apparent to someone; [for something] to be suddenly realized by someone. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) Then it dawned upon me that I was actually going to have the job. On the way home, it dawned on me that I had never returned your call, so when I got home I called immediately.
See also: dawn, on
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
dawn on
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]
See also: dawn, on
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
dawn on
or dawn uponv.
To begin to be perceived or understood by someone; become apparent to someone: It dawned on me that I had forgotten to pick up some milk. A possible motive for the crime dawned upon the detective.
See also: dawn, on
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
dawn on (someone), to
To perceive or understand for the first time. See light dawned.
See also: dawn, on
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- accompany (one) on a/(one's) journey
- accompany on a journey
- a stranger to (someone or something)
- be out of (one's) league
- be out of somebody's league
- be in bad with (someone)
- (one) puts (one's) pants on one leg at a time
- bargain
- bargain for (someone or something) with (someone)
- brief (someone) about (someone or something)