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:
Eventually you discover that certain chefs and recipe developers simply share your tastes: their pantry looks like your pantry, their idea of enough acid is your idea of enough acid.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
And she was to discover that, despite Abah's remonstrations, and promises to change, he had apparently offended again.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
That added sensitivity could help astronomers discover more planets during their earliest stages of formation and close one of the biggest observational gaps in exoplanet science.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
In the 1949 classic, a small group of Londoners discover treasure and declare independence making them exempt from post-war rationing and other bureaucratic restrictions.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
And there was only one way I’d discover anything about Will and his parents.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Randy Marsh, meanwhile, discovers the same opportunity from the opposite direction.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Natalie Wood is trapped next, and Kehn discovers she has a bad leg.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
In the wine-cellar scene where Devlin discovers uranium—a substance used to build an atomic bomb—in a bottle, Hitchcock relies entirely on Latin dance tunes playing upstairs rather than a suspense cue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Plus, Gen Z discovers the premium awards credit card, and Costco will soon sell Medicare plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
He discovers another canal about 1/2 mile on the other side of the river bed.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
He discovered one of his players had nowhere to wash his clothes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
The NHS stopped publishing data in January 2023 due to an inaccuracy that was discovered and this has not since been rectified.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Since Diplodocus was first discovered in the United States in 1878, casts of its skeleton have appeared in major natural history museums around the world, particularly during the early 20th century.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
I think that’s how a lot of young women who have discovered it see it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
He discovered that without our moon to quicken it, a dragon's egg remains dormant forever.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
He set out to use the firm’s commodity-chemical sales to finance what Mr. Werth calls “a more innovative organization for discovering new products.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But it's put a spell on a new generation discovering it online, with some now regarding the film as a cult classic and autumn staple.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
When you find one that is gracious enough to host you, it can feel like discovering a rare gem in a mine of homebodies and those siloed to their own friend groups or families.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
For enterprise leaders, the cybersecurity challenge used to be discovering software vulnerabilities before attackers could exploit them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
She imagined her father opening the paper and discovering that she was Little Miss Central Florida Tire.
From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
