discover
Americanverb (used with object)
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discovers,
present (3rd person singular)
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discovered,
past participle, past
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discovering
present participle
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to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown).
to discover America;
to discover electricity.
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to notice or realize.
I discovered I didn't have my credit card with me when I went to pay my bill.
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Archaic. to make known; reveal; disclose.
verb
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to be the first to find or find out about
Fleming discovered penicillin
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to learn about or encounter for the first time; realize
she discovered the pleasures of wine
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to find after study or search
I discovered a leak in the tank
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to reveal or make known
Usage
What are other ways to say discover? To discover something is to see, get knowledge of, or find it. How does discover differ from learn, ascertain, and detect? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
Discover, invent, originate suggest bringing to light something previously unknown. To discover may be to find something that had previously existed but had hitherto been unknown: to discover a new electricity; it may also refer to devising a new use for something already known: to discover how to make synthetic rubber. To invent is to make or create something new, especially something ingeniously devised to perform mechanical operations: to invent a device for detecting radioactivity. To originate is to begin something new, especially new ideas, methods, etc.: to originate a political movement, the use of assembly-line techniques.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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discoverernoun
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prediscoververb (used with object)
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rediscoververb (used with object)
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discoverableadjective
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nondiscoverableadjective
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undiscoverableadjective
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undiscoveredadjective
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discoverablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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discoversimple
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discoverssimple
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have discoveredperfect
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has discoveredperfect
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am discoveringprogressive
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are discoveringprogressive
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is discoveringprogressive
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have been discoveringperfect progressive
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has been discoveringperfect progressive
Past
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discoveredsimple
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had discoveredperfect
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was discoveringprogressive
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were discoveringprogressive
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had been discoveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discover
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English discouere(n), descuvere(n), from Anglo-French discoverir, descovrir, from Old French descovrir, descuvrir, from Late Latin discooperīre “to disclose, expose”; see origin at dis- 1, cover
Explanation
If you discover something, you find it unexpectedly, like when you discover your favorite childhood stuffed animal in a box of old junk. When you discover something, it can be by surprise or the result of a search. You might discover the fact that your dad used to travel with the circus as a trapeze artist or discover a band none of your friends ever heard of. Scientists often discover new substances, stars, or organisms. The Latin root discooperire, "uncover," combines the prefix dis-, or "opposite of," with cooperire, "to cover up."
Vocabulary lists containing discover
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Beowulf vocabulary
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"Return to Titanic" and "Talking with Robert Ballard"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"As AI and social media change how people discover and buy products, that direct relationship with customers will only become more important."
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
AI agents could significantly change how consumers discover brands, according to Kacy Kim, a marketing professor at Bryant University.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
These agents draw on the models to autonomously discover vulnerabilities and plan attack routes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Many were dumbfounded to discover that food they’d enjoyed all their lives suddenly made them deathly ill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
His witch finder would smell everyone’s hands and discover who was responsible.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
For the people who trusted Life Surge in part because they trusted him, what Tebow discovers may matter nearly as much as what regulators do.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
An idealistic forum for postwar rebuilding, he discovers, has become a front for espionage and cynical realpolitik.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Randy Marsh, meanwhile, discovers the same opportunity from the opposite direction.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
“If you open yourself to it,” she discovers, “life will appear before you, in everyday, perfectly tangible miracles.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
When we get home, my mom looks up prosthetists in the phone book, and what she discovers is that if we are going to stay local, Hank Kruber is our only choice.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
She gained confidence, started exercising and discovered a passion for running.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Scientists have discovered that birch tar, a material commonly associated with prehistoric toolmaking, has antibacterial properties that could have made it useful as an ancient form of medicine.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
I'll find tunes I wouldn't have discovered otherwise.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
CABIMAS, Venezuela—An oil gusher discovered more than 100 years ago gave birth to Venezuela’s energy industry near this once-booming city on the shores of Lake Maracaibo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
But gator tails do move, Chase discovered, like armored whips.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
In statement to BBC News NI, a Wycombe Wanderers spokesperson said discovering the song was "brilliant".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Investors have historically afforded Chugai a premium valuation because of its track record of discovering and developing innovative drugs, the U.S. bank says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Lee herself hovered around the computer bank, watching people interact with them and discovering the random documents left behind or playing one of Apple’s preset games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
After discovering his suppressed memories, Cramer began teaching meditation classes for others seeking to unlock the mysteries of the mind.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
“So,” he said, “Danny is discovering that Freud is not God.”
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
