eureka

¹

[ yoo-ree-kuh, yuh- ]

interjection

1. (initial capital letter) I have found (it): the reputed exclamation of Archimedes when, after long study, he discovered a method of detecting the amount of alloy mixed with the gold in the crown of the king of Syracuse.
2. (used as an exclamation of triumph at a discovery.)

Eureka

²

[ yoo-ree-kuh, yuh- ]

noun

1. a city in NW California.

eureka

/ jʊˈriːkə /

interjection

1. an exclamation of triumph on discovering or solving something

Eureka!

1. A Greek word meaning “I have found it!” An exclamation that accompanies a discovery: “When she finally located the rare book, the scholar cried, ‘Eureka!’” ( See Archimedes .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of eureka¹

1560–70; < Greek heúrēka, 1st person singular perfect indicative of heurískein to find, discover

Word History and Origins

Origin of eureka¹

C17: from Greek heurēka I have found (it), from heuriskein to find; traditionally the exclamation of Archimedes when he realized, during bathing, that the volume of an irregular solid could be calculated by measuring the water displaced when it was immersed

Example Sentences

For Brown, it was "a eureka moment".

From BBC

A Catholic hospital in Eureka has agreed to provide emergency abortion services after a state lawsuit said it had refused to give abortions to pregnant patients in life-threatening emergencies.

From Los Angeles Times

Adam, who had built a career in supercomputing, says he had the "eureka moment" for Foundem while smoking a cigarette outside the offices of his previous employer.

From BBC

Within three days she had her "eureka formulation".

From BBC

“Everybody now is just devastated because nobody expected this,” said Jim Campbell-Spickler, director of the Eureka, Calif., zoo.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amazement
• astonishment
• awe
• bewilderment
• consternation
• curiosity
• disappointment
• jolt
• miracle
• revelation
• shock
• wonder