throw light on

verb

To make clear; to elucidate; to provide an explanation for (something puzzling or mysterious).

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Meanings

verbthrow light on (third-person singular simple present throws light on, present participle throwing light on, simple past threw light on, past participle thrown light on)

present singular third person throws light on · participle present throwing light on · past threw light on · participle past thrown light on · alternative throw light upon

  1. To make clear; to elucidate; to provide an explanation for (something puzzling or mysterious).

    As the explanation, if correct, promised to throw light on some obscure features of primitive religion, I resolved to develop it fully, and, detaching it from my general work, to issue it as a separate study.

    1894, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
shed light on
Cite this entry
APA

throw light on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20light%20on

MLA

“throw light on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20light%20on. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throw light on,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20light%20on.

Source: throw light on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.