find
Americanverb (used with object)
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finds,
present (3rd person singular)
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found,
past participle, past
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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.
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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.
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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).
-
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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
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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
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to discover or obtain, esp by search or effort
to find happiness
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(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
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(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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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has been findingperfect progressive
Past
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foundsimple
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had foundperfect
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was findingprogressive
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were findingprogressive
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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:
Myra Cabilan told AFP she had flown to Coron to find her missing brother, 40-year-old Rammel Gonzaga, who had taken the ferry from Manila on a business trip with his brother-in-law.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
When their pace bowlers tried to hit the stumps, they could not find the target.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
The cataloged facts of her age, place of birth, and marital status suggest the breadth of a life he does not know, and he is seized with the curiosity to find her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel’s egocentric delusion should insist on proof. Of which they will find none.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
We strike up a conversation, and, come to find out, she’s Muscogee Freedmen.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Two scents set her off the most: “Black Ice” from Little Trees—described by the company as a “mysteriously enticing cologne with notes of citrus and cedarwood,” but which she finds indescribable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Irwin finds that he can no longer remember much about the early process of assembling his own collection—“stuff gathered together by a stranger.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“The Court finds that Petitioner has met the burden of proof by preponderance of the evidence,” Judge Esther P. Kim wrote in her ruling, which was issued the next day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Vocelle finds criticism that cat dads are seen as feminine, neurotic or less desirable as a relatively modern and unfounded affliction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
When she finds her words, she stops coiling and looks me dead in the eyes.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
"Currently, we are focused on the retrieval, and after that we will proceed with the investigation," she said, confirming the bodies had been found in the ship's economy accommodation area.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
Over just two weeks in April 2026, Anthropic found more than 4,700 different Claude-powered AI characters chatting with at least 25,000 real users, sending about 2.36 million messages in total.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
“I quite literally found my calling in life because of it,” says Tresnjak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
However, despite Ciganda's heroics, there was also a sense of what might have been for the hosts, who found themselves 6-2 behind at this stage two years ago at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
She’s made a habit of scouring the racks for good deals, and this is one of the nicest ones she’s found for me.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
After oral arguments in the spring, the three judges issued a complex decision affirming Carter’s finding of discrimination but overruling his order invalidating UCLA’s lease for its baseball stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Also on Friday, the University of Michigan released its monthly Surveys of Consumers, finding that consumer sentiment dropped from 51.7 in August to 47.8 this month so far.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Willian joined Chelsea from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013, with the investigation finding that transfer fee payments totalling £19.2m were made to two unregistered entities in connection with his move and that of Samuel Eto'o.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
She’s tested Android versions from Samsung and Google since 2019, finding that early editions came with too much screen and too many compromises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
In any case I was finding it hard to sit up so long.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
