aha moment

See also: aha! moment

English

Alternative forms

• aha! moment, ah-ha! moment, ah-ha moment

Etymology

From aha +‎ moment.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

aha moment (plural aha moments)

1. (idiomatic) The moment or instant at which the solution to a problem, or some other significant realization, becomes clear.
   • 1994 January 30, Peter Rainer, “Spielberg backlash strikes ‘Schindler’”, in Toledo Blade, USA, retrieved 15 August 2012, page E2:

     We are never made to understand why Oskar Schindler, the Nazi war profiteer, risked his life to save more than 1,200 Jews; there is no defining Aha! moment that accounts for his heroism.

   • 2007 March 8, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, “The Zeal For the Job”, in Time:

     Her aha moment came in 2003: "This, I realized, was my passion."

   • 2009 May 28, Miguel Helft, “Microsoft’s Search for a Name Ends With a Bing”, in New York Times, retrieved 15 August 2012:

     Microsoft’s marketing gurus hope that Bing will evoke […] a sound — the ringing of a bell that signals the “aha” moment when a search leads to an answer.

Synonyms

• epiphany

Translations

instance of becoming clear

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頓悟時刻／顿悟时刻 (dùnwù shíkè)

• Danish: aha-oplevelse c
• Finnish: ahaa-elämys (fi)
• French: illumination (fr)
• German: Aha-Erlebnis (de) n
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: aha-upplevelse (sv) c

See also

• aha effect
• aha experience
• aha reaction
• eureka

Anagrams

• Mahometan, Mohametan