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:
Gerald Cyrus: I was very fortunate in that I was able to discover a group of photographers based out of Leimert Park at a gallery called the Black Gallery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
By the time we came back together, the poor girlfriend was understandably shaken to discover, in person, the reality I’d been hiding behind a screen.
From Slate ● Nov. 11, 2026
Savannah McDaid said she was shocked to discover four "metal pins embedded" in sweets collected by her three-year-old son after they returned home from trick-or-treating together.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
But it didn’t take much sleuthing to discover Amazon, Shein and Temu are unofficial benefactors in the competition to put National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation to shame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
As far as I could discover, every single one taken in the raid on the Beje—with the exception of Betsie and me—had been freed.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
When Robbie and his mother travel by bus from Alberta, Canada, they part ways for a time before he discovers raging wildfires threaten her location.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
As Mona discovers, the stumbles are as important as the triumphs.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
Khadijah had insisted on nursing their newborn Aziza with her own breast milk, but Latif discovers that only a few pouches remain in the fridge and formula makes his baby sick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 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
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
He discovered Soldier On while living in his car and searching for resources to help him get out of that situation.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026
He discovered that China was a sprawling, hyperefficient manufacturing machine that could build everything he envisioned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered galaxies that appear surprisingly massive and mature for their early place in cosmic history.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2026
Marklew, an occupational therapist who works in Leicestershire, said that after she was diagnosed, scans revealed tumours were discovered in her appendix, Fallopian tubes and surrounding tissue.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
The one about a young witch who discovered a crack in the air and found herself in the Red Woods, where she lived with the royal family of jackalopes.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
She had completed some 1,700 jumps since discovering skydiving in 2015 and entered her first competition two years ago, according to her blog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2026
Knowing which planets are absent can be just as valuable as discovering new ones.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
After discovering the swap shop, she said she was pleased to see so many families taking part.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
I remember the rosemary, the bicycle ride, the pleasure of discovering another cook’s cupboards.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
I haven’t managed to shake the feeling since discovering it, and so I’m already on the back foot when I walk in the classroom.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
