discover

[ dih-skuhv-er ]

verb (used with object)

1. 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.

   Synonyms: notice, ferret out, unearth, ascertain, discern, descry, detect

2. to notice or realize:

   I discovered I didn't have my credit card with me when I went to pay my bill.

3. Archaic. to make known; reveal; disclose.

discover

/ dɪˈskʌvə /

verb

1. to be the first to find or find out about

   Fleming discovered penicillin

2. to learn about or encounter for the first time; realize

   she discovered the pleasures of wine

3. to find after study or search

   I discovered a leak in the tank

4. to reveal or make known

Derived Forms

• disˈcoverer, noun
• disˈcoverable, adjective

Other Words From

• dis·cover·a·ble adjective
• dis·cover·a·bly adverb
• nondis·cover·a·ble adjective
• predis·cover verb (used with object)
• redis·cover verb (used with object)
• undis·cover·a·ble adjective
• undis·covered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of discover¹

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”; dis- ¹, cover

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Olsen: What did you discover about her that was new to you?

From Los Angeles Times

She was happy to discover that other things were more negotiable than her partner’s favorite football team.

From Los Angeles Times

With “Beyond,” a big belter in the “Let It Go” tradition and something of a spiritual successor to the first film’s “How Far I’ll Go,” Moana faces something new: “A call straight from her ancestors looking toward the future instead of trying to discover the past,” Barlow says.

From Los Angeles Times

Last month, Ellen Konyak was shocked to discover that a 19th-Century skull from the north-eastern Indian state of Nagaland was up for auction in the UK.

From BBC

What we know with some certainty is that in time millions of Trump supporters will discover they have been lied to and made into suckers, again.

From Salon

Related Words

• catch
• come upon
• design
• detect
• determine
• devise
• disclose
• explore
• hear
• identify
• invent
• learn
• locate
• notice
• observe
• realize
• recognize
• reveal
• see
• spot