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:
The move will make Royal Caribbean a bigger player in the broader vacation market and allow both companies to help travelers discover new destinations, management said in the announcement.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The result is a huge database allowing analysts to watch all of a player's progressive passes, for example, discover who covered the most distance or simply ask 'find me a player like Ashley Cole'.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
It starts with a different question: What would make me disproportionately happy to discover already done tomorrow?
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
Our scientist is relieved to discover that most of the unusual tremors are tiny — too weak to have been felt.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
The Antikythera story is an ongoing saga with no end in sight to the attempts made to discover more evidence about the ancient world.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Randy Marsh, meanwhile, discovers the same opportunity from the opposite direction.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
In the wine-cellar scene where Devlin discovers uranium—a substance used to build an atomic bomb—in a bottle, Hitchcock relies entirely on Latin dance tunes playing upstairs rather than a suspense cue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Wilson discovers his playwriting voice in this play, but he’s still working out his approach to dramatic structure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Plus, Gen Z discovers the premium awards credit card, and Costco will soon sell Medicare plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
This is how he discovers that things are indeed more involved than they at first appeared.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Scotty's remains were discovered by teams from the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Saskatchewan's Frenchman River Valley, one of North America's richest sites for dinosaur fossils.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
The great ape, which was discovered by a farmer, was rescued and given emergency treatment for hypoxia, but later died.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Bieber, who was discovered on YouTube, even included a nostalgic homage to the platform into his set.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
When the agency tried to activate a backup fiber optic line, it discovered the cable had been severed during construction in New Jersey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
According to Kate, Lizzie “was the first one who produced these raps. She accidentally discovered the way of making them by playing with her toes against the foot board while in bed.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
In the time between discovering and reporting the incident, OpenAI says it was validating and investigating the extent of the hack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 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
"As sensitivity improves, the boundary between theory and measurement continues to move, opening new possibilities for discovering the fundamental principles that govern our universe."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
He says they would go around discovering people’s secrets and tell them to Dov Baer.
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.
