discover
verb (used with object)
to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown).
had been discovering
-
past perfect progressiveof discover.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
As an amateur archaeologist whose passion had been discovering Bronze Age stone carvings, Yerlan Zhagiparov had never been politically active.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2022
In recent years Leicester’s global claim to fame had been discovering the battle-scarred skeleton of a 15th-century monarch under a parking lot in 2012.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 23, 2015
While we had been making these discoveries, however, the village had been discovering us.
From The Car of Destiny by Armand Both
The light-minded woman had been discovering good matches for her daughter almost from the year of her birth.
From Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
There was this beauty she had been discovering in the last few years, this mystery of love,—all that had been hidden from him.
From The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
