to come upon by chance; meet with: He found a nickel in the street.
2.
to locate, attain, or obtain by search or effort: to find an apartment; to find happiness.
3.
to locate or recover (something lost or misplaced): I can't find my blue socks.
4.
to discover or perceive after consideration: to find something to be true.
5.
to gain or regain the use of: His anger finally helped him find his tongue.
6.
to ascertain by study or calculation: to find the sum of several numbers.
7.
to feel or perceive: He finds it so.
8.
to become aware of, or discover (oneself), as being in a condition or location: After a long illness, he found himself well again. She woke to find herself at home.
9.
to discover: Columbus found America in 1492.
10.
Law.
a.
to determine after judicial inquiry: to find a person guilty.
b.
to pronounce as an official act (an indictment, verdict, or judgment).
11.
to provide or furnish: Bring blankets and we'll find the rest of the equipment for the trip.
12.
South Midland and Southern U.S.(of farm animals) to give birth to: The brown cow found a calf yesterday.
–verb (used without object)
13.
to determine an issue after judicial inquiry: The jury found for the plaintiff.
14.
British Hunting. to come upon game.
–noun
15.
an act of finding or discovering.
16.
something found; a discovery, esp. a valuable or gratifying one: Our cook was a find.
17.
Hunting. a discovery of game, esp. foxes.
—Verb phrase
18.
find out,
a.
to discover or confirm the truth of (something).
b.
to detect or expose, as a crime or offense.
c.
to uncover the true nature, identity, or intentions of (someone): They found him out before he could launch the rebellion.
find oneself, to discover where one's real interests or talents lie, and follow them: After trying many occupations, he finally found himself and became an account executive.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME finden, OE findan; c. G finden, D vinden, ON finna, Goth finthan]
To come upon or discover by searching or making an effort: found the leak in the pipe.
To discover or ascertain through observation, experience, or study: found a solution; find the product of two numbers; found that it didn't really matter.
To perceive to be, after experience or consideration: found the gadget surprisingly useful; found the book entertaining.
To experience or feel: found comfort in her smile.
To bring (oneself) to an awareness of what one truly wishes to be and do in life.
To perceive (oneself) to be in a specific place or condition: found herself at home that night; found himself drawn to the stranger.
To recover (something lost): found her keys.
To recover the use of; regain: found my voice and replied.
To succeed in reaching; arrive at: The dart found its mark.
To obtain or acquire by effort: found the money by economizing.
To decide on and make a declaration about: The jury deliberated and found a verdict of guilty. All the jurors found him guilty.
To furnish; supply.
To bring (oneself) to an awareness of what one truly wishes to be and do in life.
To perceive (oneself) to be in a specific place or condition: found herself at home that night; found himself drawn to the stranger.
v.
intr.
To come to a legal decision or verdict: The jury found for the defendant.
n.
The act of finding.
Something that is found, especially an unexpectedly valuable discovery: The Rosetta stone was a providential archaeological find.
Phrasal Verb(s): find out
To ascertain (something), as through examination or inquiry: I found out the phone number by looking it up. If you're not sure, find out.
To detect the true nature or character of; expose: Liars risk being found out.
To detect and apprehend; catch: Most embezzlers are found out in the end.
[Middle English finden, from Old English findan; see pent- in Indo-European roots.]
O.E. findan "come upon, alight on" (class III strong verb; past tense fand, pp. funden), from P.Gmc. *finthanan (cf. O.S. findan, O.N. finna, M.Du. vinden, Ger. finden, Goth. finþan), originally "to come upon," perhaps from PIE *pent- "to go, pass, path, bridge" (cf. O.H.G. fendeo "pedestrian," Skt. panthah "path, way," Avestan panta "way," Gk. pontos "open sea," L. pons (gen. pontis) "bridge," O.C.S. poti "path," peta "heel"). The noun meaning "person or thing discovered" is from 1890.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with; "We find this idea in Plato"; "I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here"; "She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day"
2.
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of; "She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water"; "We found traces of lead in the paint" [syn: detect]
3.
come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost; "Did you find your glasses?"; "I cannot find my gloves!" [ant: lose]
4.
establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study; "find the product of two numbers"; "The physicist who found the elusive particle won the Nobel Prize" [syn: determine]
5.
come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds; "I feel that he doesn't like me"; "I find him to be obnoxious"; "I found the movie rather entertaining"
6.
perceive or be contemporaneous with; "We found Republicans winning the offices"; "You'll see a lot of cheating in this school"; "The 1960's saw the rebellion of the younger generation against established traditions"; "I want to see results" [syn: witness]
7.
get something or somebody for a specific purpose; "I found this gadget that will serve as a bottle opener"; "I got hold of these tools to fix our plumbing"; "The chairman got hold of a secretary on Friday night to type the urgent letter" [syn: line up]
8.
make a discovery, make a new finding; "Roentgen discovered X-rays"; "Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle" [syn: discover]
9.
make a discovery; "She found that he had lied to her"; "The story is false, so far as I can discover" [syn: discover]
10.
obtain through effort or management; "She found the time and energy to take care of her aging parents"; "We found the money to send our sons to college"
11.
decide on and make a declaration about; "find someone guilty" [syn: rule]
12.
receive a specified treatment (abstract); "These aspects of civilization do not find expression or receive an interpretation"; "His movie received a good review"; "I got nothing but trouble for my good intentions" [syn: receive]
13.
perceive oneself to be in a certain condition or place; "I found myself in a difficult situation"; "When he woke up, he found himself in a hospital room"
14.
get or find back; recover the use of; "She regained control of herself"; "She found her voice and replied quickly" [syn: recover]
15.
succeed in reaching; arrive at; "The arrow found its mark"
16.
accept and make use of one's personality, abilities, and situation; "My son went to Berkeley to find himself" [syn: find oneself]
Find\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Found; p. pr. & vb. n. Finding.] [AS. findan; akin to D. vinden, OS. & OHG. findan, G. finden, Dan. finde, icel. & Sw. finna, Goth. fin?an; and perh. to L. petere to seek, Gr. ? to fall, Skr. pat to fall, fly, E. petition.]1. To meet with, or light upon, accidentally; to gain the first sight or knowledge of, as of something new, or unknown; hence, to fall in with, as a person. Searching the window for a flint, I found This paper, thus sealed up. --Shak. In woods and forests thou art found. --Cowley. 2. To learn by experience or trial; to perceive; to experience; to discover by the intellect or the feelings; to detect; to feel. "I find you passing gentle." --Shak. The torrid zone is now found habitable. --Cowley. 3. To come upon by seeking; as, to find something lost. (a) To discover by sounding; as, to find bottom. (b) To discover by study or experiment direct to an object or end; as, water is found to be a compound substance. (c) To gain, as the object of desire or effort; as, to find leisure; to find means. (d) To attain to; to arrive at; to acquire. Seek, and ye shall find. --Matt. vii. 7. Every mountain now hath found a tongue. --Byron. 4. To provide for; to supply; to furnish; as, to find food for workemen; he finds his nephew in money. Wages [pounds]14 and all found. --London Times. Nothing a day and find yourself. --Dickens. 5. To arrive at, as a conclusion; to determine as true; to establish; as, to find a verdict; to find a true bill (of indictment) against an accused person. To find his title with some shows of truth. --Shak. To find out, to detect (a thief); to discover (a secret) -- to solve or unriddle (a parable or enigma); to understand. "Canst thou by searching find out God?" --Job. xi. 7. "We do hope to find out all your tricks." --Milton. To find fault with, to blame; to censure. To find one's self, to be; to fare; -- often used in speaking of health; as, how do you find yourself this morning?
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