discover

dis·cov·er

 (dĭ-skŭv′ər)

tr.v. dis·cov·ered, dis·cov·er·ing, dis·cov·ers

1. To notice or learn, especially by making an effort: got home and discovered that the furnace wasn't working.

2.

a. To be the first, or the first of one's group or kind, to find, learn of, or observe.

b. To learn about for the first time in one's experience: discovered a new restaurant on the west side.

3. To learn something about: discovered him to be an impostor; discovered the brake to be defective.

4. To identify (a person) as a potentially prominent performer: a movie star who was discovered in a drugstore by a producer.

5. Archaic To reveal or expose.

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[Middle English discoveren, to reveal, from Old French descovrir, from Late Latin discooperīre : Latin dis-, dis- + Latin cooperīre, to cover; see cover.]

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dis·cov′er·a·ble adj.

dis·cov′er·er n.

Synonyms: discover, ascertain, determine, learn
These verbs mean to gain knowledge or awareness of something not known before: discovered a star in a distant galaxy; ascertaining the facts; tried to determine the origins of the problem; learned the sad news from the radio.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

discover

(dɪˈskʌvə)

vb (tr; may take a clause as object)

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

disˈcoverable adj

disˈcoverer n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dis•cov•er

(dɪˈskʌv ər)

v.t.

1. to gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown).

2. to notice or realize.

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

[1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French discoverir, Old French descovrir < Late Latin discooperīre]

dis•cov′er•a•ble, adj.

dis•cov′er•a•bly, adv.

dis•cov′er•er, n.

syn: See learn.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

invent

– discover

1. 'invent'

If someone invents something new, they are the first person to think of it or make it.

Walter Hunt and Elias Howe invented the sewing machine.

2. 'discover'

You do not use 'invent' to say that someone finds out about something which exists but which was not previously known. The word you use is discover.

Herschel discovered a new planet.

Having found these fragments, the team of researchers discovered a way to date them.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

discover

Past participle: discovered
Gerund: discovering

Imperative

discover

discover

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	discover - 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" detect, notice, observe, find catch out, find out - trap; especially in an error or in a reprehensible act; "He was caught out"; "She was found out when she tried to cash the stolen checks" discover, find - make a discovery, make a new finding; "Roentgen discovered X-rays"; "Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle" sense - detect some circumstance or entity automatically; "This robot can sense the presence of people in the room"; "particle detectors sense ionization" instantiate - find an instance of (a word or particular usage of a word); "The linguists could not instantiate this sense of the noun that he claimed existed in a certain dialect" trace - discover traces of; "She traced the circumstances of her birth" see - observe as if with an eye; "The camera saw the burglary and recorded it" sight, spy - catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes; "he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge"
	2.	discover - get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally; "I learned that she has two grown-up children"; "I see that you have been promoted" get a line, get wind, get word, hear, learn, find out, pick up, see get the goods - discover some bad or hidden information about; "She got the goods on her co-worker after reading his e-mail" wise up - get wise to; "They wised up to it" trip up, catch - detect a blunder or misstep; "The reporter tripped up the senator" ascertain - learn or discover with certainty discover, find - make a discovery; "She found that he had lied to her"; "The story is false, so far as I can discover" witness, see, find - 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"
	3.	discover - make a discovery, make a new finding; "Roentgen discovered X-rays"; "Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle" find discover, find - make a discovery; "She found that he had lied to her"; "The story is false, so far as I can discover" ascertain, determine, find out, find - 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" conceive, conceptualise, conceptualize, gestate - have the idea for; "He conceived of a robot that would help paralyzed patients"; "This library was well conceived" detect, discover, notice, observe, find - 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"
	4.	discover - make a discovery; "She found that he had lied to her"; "The story is false, so far as I can discover" find get a line, get wind, get word, hear, learn, discover, find out, pick up, see - get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally; "I learned that she has two grown-up children"; "I see that you have been promoted" rake up - bring to light; "He raked up the misdeeds of his predecessor" ferret out, ferret - search and discover through persistent investigation; "She ferreted out the truth" discover, find - make a discovery, make a new finding; "Roentgen discovered X-rays"; "Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle"
	5.	discover - find unexpectedly; "the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb"; "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake" chance on, chance upon, come across, come upon, fall upon, happen upon, light upon, attain, strike regain, find - come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost; "Did you find your glasses?"; "I cannot find my gloves!"
	6.	discover - make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; "The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won't reveal how old she is"; "bring out the truth"; "he broke the news to her"; "unwrap the evidence in the murder case" disclose, divulge, let on, let out, reveal, unwrap, expose, give away, bring out, break blackwash - bring (information) out of concealment muckrake - explore and expose misconduct and scandals concerning public figures; "This reporter was well-known for his muckraking" blow - cause to be revealed and jeopardized; "The story blew their cover"; "The double agent was blown by the other side" out - reveal (something) about somebody's identity or lifestyle; "The gay actor was outed last week"; "Someone outed a CIA agent" come out of the closet, out, come out - to state openly and publicly one's homosexuality; "This actor outed last year" spring - produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly; "He sprang these news on me just as I was leaving" get around, get out, break - be released or become known; of news; "News of her death broke in the morning" betray, bewray - reveal unintentionally; "Her smile betrayed her true feelings" confide - reveal in private; tell confidentially leak - tell anonymously; "The news were leaked to the paper" babble out, blab, blab out, let the cat out of the bag, peach, spill the beans, tattle, babble, talk, sing - divulge confidential information or secrets; "Be careful--his secretary talks" tell - let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late" reveal - disclose directly or through prophets; "God rarely reveal his plans for Mankind"
	7.	discover - see for the first time; make a discovery; "Who discovered the North Pole?" rediscover - discover again; "I rediscovered the books that I enjoyed as a child"
	8.	discover - identify as in botany or biology, for example key, key out, describe, distinguish, identify, name

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

discover

verb

1. find out, see, learn, reveal, spot, determine, notice, realize, recognize, perceive, detect, disclose, uncover, discern, ascertain, suss (out) (slang), get wise to (informal) As he discovered, she had a brilliant mind.

2. find, come across, uncover, track down, unearth, turn up, dig up, come upon, chance on, stumble on, bring to light, light upon His body was discovered on a roadside outside the city.

3. invent, develop, come up with, design, pioneer, devise, originate, contrive, hit on, conceive of Scientists discovered a way of forming the image in a thin layer on the surface.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

discover

verb

1. To obtain knowledge or awareness of something not known before, as through observation or study:

ascertain, determine, find (out), hear, learn.

2. Archaic. To make visible; bring to view:

bare, disclose, display, expose, reveal, show, unclothe, uncover, unmask, unveil.

Idioms: bring to light, lay open, make plain.

3. Archaic. To disclose in a breach of confidence:

betray, blab, divulge, expose, give away, let out, reveal, tell, uncover, unveil.

Informal: spill.

Idioms: let slip, let the cat out of the bag, spill the beans, tell all.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

اكتشفيَجِديَكْتَشِفيَكْتَشِفُ

objevitzjistit

opdagefinde ud af

entdeckenherausfindenausfindig machen

ανακαλύπτω

hallardescubrirencontrardarse cuenta

löytää

découvrirdépouiller

otkriti

komast aî e-uuppgötva

scoprirescoperchiare

発見する見付ける

발견하다

atradimas

atklātatrast

ontdekkenonthullenblootleggen

oppdage

odkryć

descobrir

открыватьоткрытьраскрытьраскрыватьобнаруживать

odkriti

upptäcka

ค้นพบ

keşfetmeköğrenmekanlamakbulmak

phát hiện

发现暴露查出

discover

[dɪsˈkʌvəʳ] VT

1. [+ new country, species, talent] → descubrir; [+ object] (after search) → encontrar, hallar

2. (= notice) [+ loss, mistake] → darse cuenta de
I discovered that I'd left it at home → me di cuenta de que lo había dejado en casa

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

discover

[dɪˈskʌvə^r] vt [+ missing person, body] → découvrir; [+ unknown fact, place] → découvrir; [+ new information] → découvrir; [+ mistake] → s'apercevoir de
to discover that ... (= find out) → se rendre compte que ...
to discover how to do sth → découvrir comment faire qch, apprendre à faire qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

discover

vt → entdecken; culprit → finden; secret, truth → herausfinden; cause → feststellen; (after search) house, book → ausfindig machen, entdecken; (= notice) mistake, loss → feststellen, bemerken; did you ever discover who …? → haben Sie jemals herausgefunden, wer …?

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

discover

[dɪsˈkʌvəʳ] vt (gen) → scoprire; (after search) → scovare, trovare; (notice, loss, mistake) → scoprire, accorgersi di

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

discover

(disˈkavə) verb

1. to find by chance, especially for the first time. Columbus discovered America; Marie Curie discovered radium. ontdek, uitvind يَكْتَشِف откривам descobrir objevit entdecken opdage ανακαλύπτω κατά τύχη descubrir avastama کشف کردن keksiä découvrir לְגָלוֹת खोजना करना otkriti felfedez menemukan uppgötva scoprire 発見する 발견하다 atrasti atklāt menemui ontdekkenoppdage odkrywać کشف descobrir a descoperi открывать objaviť odkriti otkriti upptäcka พบโดยบังเอิญ keşfetmek, bulmak 發現 відкривати; довідуватися اتفاقا کوئی نئی چیز ڈھونڈ نکالنا khám phá 发现

2. to find out. Try to discover what's going on! agterkom, vasstel يَجِد разбирам descobrir zjistit ausfindig machen, herausfinden finde ud af ανακαλύπτωdescubrir teada saama دریافتن؛ فهمیدن saada selville découvrir לְגָלוֹת पता लगाना, खोजना saznati kitalál menyelidiki komast að e-u scoprire 見つける 밝히다 sužinoti atrast mengetahui te weten komen finne utdowiedzieć się کشف کول descobrir a descoperi выяснять zistiť odkriti otkriti komma underfund med, finna ut ค้นหา anlamak, öğrenmek 發現 виявляти پتا لگانا tìm ra 发现

disˈcovery – plural disˈcoveries – noun

a voyage of discovery; She made several startling discoveries. uitvind إكْتِشاف откривам descoberta objev(ení); zjištění die Entdeckung opdagelse ανακάλυψηdescubrimiento, hallazgo avastus اکتشاف؛ کشف löytö découverteגילוי खोज, शोध, अन्वेषण pronaći felfedezés penemuan uppgötvun scoperta 発見 발견 atradimas atklājums; atklāšana menerokai ontdekkingoppdagelseodkrycie کشف descoberta decoperire открытие objav odkritje otkriti upptäckt ค้นพบ keşif, buluş 發現 виявляти دریافت کرنا khám phá 发现

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We discover something that existed but was not yet known: He discovered a cave .
We invent something that was not in existence: They invented a new machine .

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

discover

→ يَكْتَشِفُ zjistit opdage entdecken ανακαλύπτω descubrir löytää découvrir otkriti scoprire 発見する 발견하다 ontdekken oppdage odkryć descobrir открывать upptäcka ค้นพบ keşfetmek phát hiện 发现

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009