discover
Americanverb (used with object)
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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:
If you do discover an unauthorized charge on your debit card, notifying your bank or credit union within two business days of noticing the fraud caps your maximum liability at $50.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
While Gipson hopes the renovated campus will attract additional international visitors, he also wants more Angelenos to discover one of the city’s defining cultural landmarks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Asked why the factory was not ready, given he had been there since 2023, he says, effectively, you only know what you don't know when you discover it.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Soon it will increasingly help discover new knowledge—from discovering new drugs to cure a family member’s disease to finding new ways to improve your business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“First, let us discover to whom this correspondence is addressed.”
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
When Lok discovers simile, it is, poignantly, to describe his awareness that the newcomers will sweep through his world “like a fire in the forest.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Likewise, viewers will not be startled when Marina eventually discovers painful secrets about her mom and dad that cause her to reconsider those phantom figures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
On a reconnaissance mission, Jessie climbs to the roof and discovers the root of this strange standoffishness: Every child, in every window, has their face glued to a screen.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
What happens when an AI-worshipping extremist logs in one morning and discovers that the entity he believes to be God has been taken offline or overwritten—in his eyes, killed?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
This Book is a new Telescope; it discovers what we could not see before; and the Spots in this Spiritual Moon, are Mountains.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The filmmakers say they discovered more than 120 separate allegations online.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
After all, he claims to have discovered his girlfriend’s endometriosis through period blood samples.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
But in the three hacks the company eventually discovered, Claude didn’t break out of a sandbox; it simply wandered out of systems where the sandbox didn’t exist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
In neighbouring Poland, police said they had discovered a 10-metre-wide crater in a field -- likely caused by a projectile.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
I did not want to imagine what would happen if her true identity were discovered by these bloodthirsty conspirators.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Among the visitors are young travellers discovering the island for the first time, as well as families including women wearing headscarves, accompanied by their spouses and children in strollers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Maybe you’ll end up discovering a new favorite sport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Recently, cookbook author and food-world oracle Alison Roman gave Loonen her social-media stamp of approval after discovering it at Two Bunch Palms hotel in Desert Hot Springs, Calif.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The observatory has been responsible for helping identify objects like supermassive black holes, discovering new galaxies and tracking spacecraft.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Thus, Park Service biologists managed the wonderfully unusual accomplishment of discovering and eradicating in the same instant a new species of fish.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
