(initial capital letter) I have found (it): the reputed exclamation of Archimedes when, after long study, he discovered a method of detecting the amount of alloy mixed with the gold in the crown of the king of Syracuse.
(used as an exclamation of triumph at a discovery.)
1560–70; < Greek heúrēka, 1st person singular perfect indicative of heurískein to find, discover
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is the passage that zapped Ms. Prose with her eureka moment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
I think my first eureka moment was when I was traveling in sub-Saharan Africa on the Ivory Coast doing a site visit.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
He has supported people in the community "four, five, six times before you get that eureka moment and you don't see them again."
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025
"But as often happens, we came across the answer while deep in obscure literature before our eureka moment."
From Science Daily • Nov. 5, 2025
Hudson leans in, puts his fist underneath his chin, and stares off into the sky like he’s just had the most epic eureka moment and is now ready to remake the world.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
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.
