find
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
-
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
-
(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
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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
-
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
-
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:
Even after a substantial evening meal, foods rich in sugar, fat or salt can continue to activate reward pathways in the brain, helping explain why many people find themselves reaching for something more.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
“You just find yourself getting stronger and stronger. What do they say? Like you don’t know how strong you are until being strong is your only option.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
But she explained that there were "no easy choices" given the scale of the financial savings the trust had been asked to find.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
There are films that so closely resemble other films that they amount to something like cinematic plagiarism, and you may find yourself sitting in the dark being as baffled as Peter: Am I missing something?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
She’d heard about an American Jesuit stranded at Ateneo de Manila University, and she is determined to find him.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
“Club Kid” is an indie comedy-drama about a self-involved, degenerate playboy who unexpectedly finds himself being saddled with a son.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
At the same time, Citrini’s analysis finds that AI is now starting to present headwinds through competition and disintermediation that is undermining the prospects of the software-as-a-service sector.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
“I really just approached it truthfully,” she said, noting that while the show is a comedy, the circumstances Mary finds herself in are genuinely tragic, and she wanted to be true to that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Even if the magistrate judge finds probable cause, the fact that the preliminary hearing occurred can pose problems down the road.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
He’s the person who finds compromises and solutions.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
As a pundit, he has found his voice.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
A KFF Health News analysis found Medi-Cal lost almost 100,000 immigrants without legal status in the second half of 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Au, detained in July 2025 and whose closed-door trial concluded in September in three days, was found guilty of "subversion against the political power of the State" among other offences, a court statement said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
She has found that selling bags as quickly as possible is key.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
I found him at a treehouse, weirdly polished and fancy, like the treehouses you saw on TV shows but never did in real life.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Women carrying continuing anxiety become more cautious about making career moves that might introduce more uncertainty, becoming more reluctant to move beyond their position and less confident about finding a new one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Fewer people are quitting or leaving their jobs and finding better ones.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
A central challenge in personalized phage therapy is finding the correct virus for each patient.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
Other challenges for housing developers include rising construction costs and difficulty finding skilled labor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
We were late finding our shelter that morning, but Peter was not too worried because there was a thick mist all around us, and we were well enough hidden.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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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.
