shed light on

• shed light upon
• shed light

shed light on (third-person singular simple present sheds light on, present participle shedding light on, simple past and past participle shed light on)

1. To illuminate; to make clear.

   The new instruments will shed some light on the history of these rocks.

   There was another noticeable circumstance that shed light on human nature and Grim's knowledge of it.

   • 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:

     Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: […] . The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom.

• (illuminate): enlighten, illuminate; See also Thesaurus:illuminate
• (make clear): clear, clear up, elucidate
• (make understood): elucidate, sort out, straighten out, bring home