discover

[ dih-skuhv-er ]

See synonyms for discover on Thesaurus.com

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): to discover America;to discover electricity.
to notice or realize: I discovered I didn't have my credit card with me when I went to pay my bill.

Archaic. to make known; reveal; disclose.

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

synonym study For discover

1. 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 words for discover

1	detect, descry, discern, ascertain, unearth, ferret out, notice

See synonyms for discover on Thesaurus.com

Other words from discover

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use discover in a sentence

There was nothing else left to do; after that he would allow the enigma to drop into the abyss of undiscoverable things.
Return of the Native | Thomas Hardy
The one mind into which his thoughts had thus passed, remained ever mysteriously undiscoverable.
The Book-Hunter | John Hill Burton
Poseidon and Aphrodite, Odin and Freya, vanish into the indefinite and undiscoverable at the approach of historical criticism.
The Book-Hunter | John Hill Burton
It was a construction at whose center something undiscoverable had made a nest, with eggs in it.
Operation: Outer Space | William Fitzgerald Jenkins
It was strong only when the natural antecedents were not discovered, strongest when they could be declared undiscoverable.
Evolution in Modern Thought | Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for discover

discover

/ (dɪˈskʌvə) /

verb(tr; may take a clause as object)

to be the first to find or find out about: Fleming discovered penicillin
to learn about or encounter for the first time; realize: she discovered the pleasures of wine

to find after study or search: I discovered a leak in the tank
to reveal or make known

Derived forms of discover

discoverable, adjective
discoverer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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