find
Americanverb (used with object)
-
finds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
found,
past participle, past
-
finding
present participle
-
to come upon by chance; meet with.
He found a nickel in the street.
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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.
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to discover or perceive after consideration.
to find something to be true.
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to gain or regain the use of.
His anger finally helped him find his tongue.
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to ascertain by study or calculation.
to find the sum of several numbers.
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to feel or perceive.
He finds it so.
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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.
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to discover.
Columbus found America in 1492.
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Law.
-
to determine after judicial inquiry.
to find a person guilty.
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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.
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South Midland and Southern U.S. (of farm animals) to give birth to.
The brown cow found a calf yesterday.
verb (used without object)
-
finds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
found,
past participle, past
-
finding
present participle
-
to determine an issue after judicial inquiry.
The jury found for the plaintiff.
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British Hunting. to come upon game.
noun
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finds
plural
-
an act of finding or discovering.
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something found; a discovery, especially a valuable or gratifying one.
Our cook was a find.
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Hunting. a discovery of game, especially foxes.
verb phrase
idioms
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find fault. fault.
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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.
verb
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to meet with or discover by chance
-
to discover or obtain, esp by search or effort
to find happiness
-
(may take a clause as object) to become aware of; realize
he found that nobody knew
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(may take a clause as object) to regard as being; consider
I find this wine a little sour
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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
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to regain (something lost or not functioning)
to find one's tongue
-
to reach (a target)
the bullet found its mark
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to provide, esp with difficulty
we'll find room for you too
-
to be able to pay
I can't find that amount of money
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to realize and accept one's real character; discover one's true vocation
-
to become capable or confident, as in a new job
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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findsimple
-
findssimple
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have foundperfect
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has foundperfect
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am findingprogressive
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are findingprogressive
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is findingprogressive
-
have been findingperfect progressive
-
has been findingperfect progressive
Past
-
foundsimple
-
had foundperfect
-
was findingprogressive
-
were findingprogressive
-
had been findingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of find
First recorded before 900; Middle English finden, Old English findan; cognate with German finden, Dutch vinden, Old Norse finna, Gothic finthan
Explanation
To find something means to discover it. When you're strolling through a green field, you might try to find a four-leaf clover. You can find something deliberately, or by stumbling upon it, like when you find a five-dollar bill on the sidewalk. In this meaning, find means obtain, but it can also mean observe, such as when you find that reading in dim light gives you a headache. As a noun, find is the thing you discover, like your elephant costume, the best find in day of garage sale shopping.
Vocabulary lists containing find
Novel Study: The Bluest Eye, Pages 94–206
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Spelling Practice, Unit 8
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Spelling Practice, Unit 3
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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 Celebrity Traitors finale is nearly upon us - on Friday we'll find out if the traitors remain undetected until the end, or the faithfuls finally figure out who they are.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
After her fatal accident, the movie shows a stricken Chin wrestling with his career path: “I don’t know if I find it justifiable anymore,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The state is asking the court to find that Chiquite Canyon’s operators violated several Hazardous Waste Control Laws, which would open them to civil penalties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Dozens of participants in the Binational Half Marathon across the U.S./Mexico border reportedly returned from the race to find their cars had been towed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Thankfully, Nana Dee says goodbye, and we find shelter behind the closed door of Ruby’s bedroom.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Deloitte study finds booming market in stock-based loans to billionaires—and the lesser rich.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Gladwell finds those parts through hours and hours of interviews, which he does in a concentrated block as he allows the story to evolve in his mind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
The US still does not have an ambassador stationed in Brasilia, and Brazil's ambassador to Washington finds herself in limbo after her US visa was revoked.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
He looks at the cash flow return on investment metric for AI stocks, currently at record levels, and finds that if it were to mean revert, the valuations rise to the 90th percentile most expensive.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
“She roams the earth with pointed teeth and glowing eyes, looking for her children. If she finds a child awake, she will mistake them for her own and take them!”
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Apple recorded an average gross profit of more than 80 cents for every dollar it charged iPhone and iPad buyers for extra storage since it first released those devices through 2025, the Journal found.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Officials in South Carolina announced Wednesday that an investigation found Hayden Panettiere’s Aug. 16 death to be accidental and the case is now closed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
For house hunters who are not superstitious or squeamish it means there are big bargains to be found.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
In the small fishing village of Petersburg, he found Dan J. Sullivan, who apparently agreed to run if it would help Peltola win.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
He was limited in ways that are important to all human beings, but he found a way to live, working with horses.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Students do not pay council tax so the local authority will be responsible for finding a way of giving them the payments.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Anthropic’s upcoming public-market debut has stirred up investor interest in finding ways to get exposure to the artificial-intelligence company, both before its initial public offering and after the highly anticipated IPO.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
CoreWeave stock looks to be finding its footing after a selloff driven by debt fears.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
The researchers also identified a finding that may seem counterintuitive.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026
I tied the dogs off so they wouldn’t run—again, I had some pups in the team and they were insane, especially after finding the grouse—and I went to the nest.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
