discover
Americanverb (used with object)
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discovers,
present (3rd person singular)
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discovered,
past participle, past
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discovering
present participle
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to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown).
to discover America;
to discover electricity.
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to notice or realize.
I discovered I didn't have my credit card with me when I went to pay my bill.
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Archaic. to make known; reveal; disclose.
verb
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to be the first to find or find out about
Fleming discovered penicillin
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to learn about or encounter for the first time; realize
she discovered the pleasures of wine
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to find after study or search
I discovered a leak in the tank
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to reveal or make known
Usage
What are other ways to say discover? To discover something is to see, get knowledge of, or find it. How does discover differ from learn, ascertain, and detect? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
Discover, invent, originate suggest bringing to light something previously unknown. To discover may be to find something that had previously existed but had hitherto been unknown: to discover a new electricity; it may also refer to devising a new use for something already known: to discover how to make synthetic rubber. To invent is to make or create something new, especially something ingeniously devised to perform mechanical operations: to invent a device for detecting radioactivity. To originate is to begin something new, especially new ideas, methods, etc.: to originate a political movement, the use of assembly-line techniques.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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discoverernoun
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prediscoververb (used with object)
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rediscoververb (used with object)
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discoverableadjective
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nondiscoverableadjective
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undiscoverableadjective
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undiscoveredadjective
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discoverablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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discoversimple
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discoverssimple
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have discoveredperfect
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has discoveredperfect
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am discoveringprogressive
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are discoveringprogressive
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is discoveringprogressive
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have been discoveringperfect progressive
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has been discoveringperfect progressive
Past
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discoveredsimple
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had discoveredperfect
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was discoveringprogressive
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were discoveringprogressive
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had been discoveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discover
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English discouere(n), descuvere(n), from Anglo-French discoverir, descovrir, from Old French descovrir, descuvrir, from Late Latin discooperīre “to disclose, expose”; see origin at dis- 1, cover
Explanation
If you discover something, you find it unexpectedly, like when you discover your favorite childhood stuffed animal in a box of old junk. When you discover something, it can be by surprise or the result of a search. You might discover the fact that your dad used to travel with the circus as a trapeze artist or discover a band none of your friends ever heard of. Scientists often discover new substances, stars, or organisms. The Latin root discooperire, "uncover," combines the prefix dis-, or "opposite of," with cooperire, "to cover up."
Vocabulary lists containing discover
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Beowulf vocabulary
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"Return to Titanic" and "Talking with Robert Ballard"
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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 fact that we can still discover a nearby companion, more massive and brighter than the Sun, around such a well-studied star is remarkable," says Montargès.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
The size of her crowds has ballooned over the past 12 months, and when listeners discover her tracks, they often cling to them like a raft in a storm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
The Royal Mint says shoppers and collectors should discover the coins, which were minted and dated in 2023 and 2026, across the country.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
A president whose best friends are the people who need him might one day discover that they no longer do.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
But at two weeks this one had yet to discover how unwelcoming was its world: we would need a place for them far removed from other houses.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
So when he discovers Jake is missing, Tom feels guilty as well as frantic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
In the wake of his killing, his loved ones deal with loss and guilt, while Gerry’s spirit discovers a world beyond this one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Likewise, viewers will not be startled when Marina eventually discovers painful secrets about her mom and dad that cause her to reconsider those phantom figures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
If a future astrobiology mission discovers life in Venus' clouds, one possible explanation is that it originally came from Earth.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
The chief surgeon discovers them on his rounds, and is overjoyed.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
And a drone carrying an explosive which was discovered at an airport in the German city of Leipzig was probably Russian, security experts have said.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
He told NPR he discovered his talent for doing different voices while working on a farm as a child and imitating animals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
We know this because, not very long ago, millions of European consumers discovered that products sold to them as beef contained something else entirely.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Danielle Smith, a union leader, discovered clowning after falling down an internet rabbit hole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
“Then we’ll stop and chat about what we’ve discovered in that silence.”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Bayliss was subsequently found too badly injured to stand trial, but police reopened the investigation in 2024 after discovering he had successfully reapplied for a driving licence.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Reno is discovering what California has long known: Sprawling development into fire-prone areas can put those new communities at risk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
"Animals have probably been feeding on nature's original bioplastic for hundreds of millions of years - we're only discovering it now."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
There is a great sadness in this book and also the occasional miraculous story of couples finding each other or of parents discovering a child who survived.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
He bent down and lifted the stone, discovering freshly turned earth beneath it.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
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.
