discoververb
third-person singular discovers past tense discovered past participle discovered present participle discovering
To discover is to find or learn something for the first time: a thing that was hidden, a fact you did not know, or a new interest.
findfind something or someone that was hidden or that no one knew about before
transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj]
- Workers discovered some old coins under the floor. V + obj
- Scientists have discovered a new kind of frog in the forest. V + obj
- The police discovered the stolen car behind a shop. V + obj
Collocations
adverb + verb recently discovered, first discoveredSynonyms find
Compare invent (you invent something that did not exist before)
learn a factlearn a fact that you did not know before
transitive [T] verb + that-clause [V + that] verb + wh-clause [V + wh] verb + object [V + obj]
- She discovered that her bag was gone. V + that
- We never discovered who sent the flowers. V + wh
- I discovered the truth by accident. V + obj
Collocations
Synonyms find out; learn
begin to enjoyfind something for the first time and begin to enjoy it
Word family
- discovery
- discoverer