find
- to come upon by chance; meet with: He found a nickel in the street.
- to locate, attain, or obtain by search or effort: to find an apartment; to find happiness.
- to locate or recover (something lost or misplaced): I can't find my blue socks.
- to discover or perceive after consideration: to find something to be true.
- to gain or regain the use of: His anger finally helped him find his tongue.
- to ascertain by study or calculation: to find the sum of several numbers.
- to feel or perceive: He finds it so.
- to become aware of, or discover (oneself), as being in a condition or location: After a long illness, he found himself well again. She woke to find herself at home.
- to discover: Columbus found America in 1492.
- Law.
- to determine after judicial inquiry: to find a person guilty.
- to pronounce as an official act (an indictment, verdict, or judgment).
- to provide or furnish: Bring blankets and we'll find the rest of the equipment for the trip.
- South Midland and Southern U.S. (of farm animals) to give birth to: The brown cow found a calf yesterday.
- to determine an issue after judicial inquiry: The jury found for the plaintiff.
- British Hunting. to come upon game.
- an act of finding or discovering.
- something found; a discovery, especially a valuable or gratifying one: Our cook was a find.
- Hunting. a discovery of game, especially foxes.
- find out,
- to discover or confirm the truth of (something).
- to detect or expose, as a crime or offense.
- to uncover the true nature, identity, or intentions of (someone): They found him out before he could launch the rebellion.
- find fault. fault(def 16).
- find oneself, to discover where one's real interests or talents lie, and follow them: After trying many occupations, he finally found himself and became an account executive.
Origin of find
Synonyms for find
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for find
locate, unearth, notice, detect, spot, discover, identify, meet, strike, uncover, recover, encounter, get, boast, treasure, jewel, bargain, bonanza, gem, catchExamples from the Web for find
Contemporary Examples of find
In the end, I find it never fails to modernize even the most dramatic things.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera TwistJudnick Mayard
January 8, 2015
What criticisms of last season did you find helpful, and not so helpful?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISISMarlow Stern
January 8, 2015
But as you get older, I find I get more tunes and I have to work harder at the words.
I still do find it a tremendously useful device to invent a character and have the character sing the song.
With Ebola still raging in West Africa, the race to find a vaccine is heating up.
Historical Examples of find
When you return, you will find a trifling token of remembrance for yourself and Philothea.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
In the garden of Anaxagoras, you will find a statue of Pallas, carved from an olive-tree.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
From what we had heard, we expected to find you in the city.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
But am I so fortunate as to find you willing to return with me?
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
He never could find out what was "going on" to bring so many folks into town.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
find
- to meet with or discover by chance
- to discover or obtain, esp by search or effortto find happiness
- (may take a clause as object) to become aware of; realizehe found that nobody knew
- (may take a clause as object) to regard as being; considerI find this wine a little sour
- to look for and point out (something to be criticized)to find fault
- (also intr) law to determine an issue after judicial inquiry and pronounce a verdict (upon)the court found the accused guilty
- to regain (something lost or not functioning)to find one's tongue
- to reach (a target)the bullet found its mark
- to provide, esp with difficultywe'll find room for you too
- to be able to payI can't find that amount of money
- find oneself to realize and accept one's real character; discover one's true vocation
- find one's feet to become capable or confident, as in a new job
- a person, thing, etc, that is found, esp a valuable or fortunate discovery
Word Origin for find
Word Origin and History for find
Old English findan "come upon, meet with, discover; obtain by search or study" (class III strong verb; past tense fand, past participle funden), from Proto-Germanic *finthan "to come upon, discover" (cf. Old Saxon findan, Old Frisian finda, Old Norse finna, Middle Dutch vinden, Old High German findan, German finden, Gothic finþan), originally "to come upon."
The Germanic word is from PIE root *pent- "to tread, go" (cf. Old High German fendeo "pedestrian;" Sanskrit panthah "path, way;" Avestan panta "way;" Greek pontos "open sea," patein "to tread, walk;" Latin pons (genitive pontis) "bridge;" Old Church Slavonic poti "path," peta "heel;" Russian put' "path, way"). To find out "to discover by scrutiny" is from 1550s (Middle English had a verb, outfinden, c.1300).
"person or thing discovered," 1825, from find (v.).
Idioms and Phrases with find
find
In addition to the idioms beginning with find
- find fault
- find it in one's heart
- find one's bearings
- find oneself
- find one's way
- find out
- find true north
also see:
- hard way (find out the)