Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Discover
Dis-cov′er
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Discovered
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Discovering
.] [OE.
discoveren
, discuren
, descuren
, OF. descovrir
, descouvrir
, F. découvrir
; des-
(L. dis-
) + couvrir
to cover. See Cover
.] 1.
To uncover.
[Obs.]
Whether any man hath pulled down or
discovered
any church. Abp. Grindal.
2.
To disclose; to lay open to view; to make visible; to reveal; to make known; to show (what has been secret, unseen, or unknown).
[Archaic]
Go, draw aside the curtains, and
The several caskets to this noble prince.
discover
The several caskets to this noble prince.
Shakespeare
Prosperity doth best
discover
vice; but adversity doth best discover
virtue. Bacon.
We will
discover
ourselves unto them. 1 Sam. xiv. 8.
Discover
not a secret to another. Prov. xxv. 9.
3.
To obtain for the first time sight or knowledge of, as of a thing existing already, but not perceived or known; to find; to ascertain; to espy; to detect.
[wns=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
Some to
discover
islands far away. Shakespeare
4.
To manifest without design; to show.
The youth
discovered
a taste for sculpture. C. J. Smith.
Syn. – To disclose; bring out; exhibit; show; manifest; reveal; communicate; impart; tell; espy; find; out; detect. – To
Discover
, Invent
. We discover what existed before, but remained unknown; we invent by forming combinations which are either entirely new, or which attain their end by means unknown before. Columbus discovered America; Newton discovered the law of gravitation; Whitney invented the cotton gin; Galileo invented the telescope. Dis-cov′er
,Verb.
I.
To discover or show one’s self.
[Obs.]
This done, they
discover
. Decker.
Nor was this the first time that they
discovered
to be followers of this world. Milton.
Webster 1828 Edition
Discover
DISCOVER
,Verb.
T.
1.
Literally, to uncover; to remove a covering. Isaiah 22.2.
To lay open to the view; to disclose; to show; to make visible; to expose to view something before unseen or concealed.Go, draw aside the curtains and discover the several caskets to this noble prince.
He discovereth deep things out of darkness. Job 12.
Law can discover sin, but not remove.
3.
To reveal; to make known.We will discover ourselves to them. 1 Samuel 14.
Discover not a secret to another. Proverbs 25.
4.
To espy; to have the first sight of; as, a man at mast-head discovered land.When we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand. Acts 21.
5.
To find out; to obtain the first knowledge of; to come to the knowledge of something sought or before unknown. Columbus discovered the variation of the magnetic needle. We often discover our mistakes, when too late to prevent their evil effects.6.
To detect; as, we discovered the artifice; the thief, finding himself discovered, attempted to escape.Discover differs from invent. We discover what before existed, though to us unknown; we invent what did not before exist.
Definition 2024
Discover
Discover
See also: discover
discover
discover
See also: Discover
English
Alternative forms
- discovre (obsolete)
Verb
discover (third-person singular simple present discovers, present participle discovering, simple past and past participle discovered)
- To find or learn something for the first time.
- Turning the corner, I discovered a lovely little shop. I discovered that they sold widgets.
- 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- All this has led to an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism.
- (transitive, obsolete) To remove the cover from; to uncover (a head, building etc.).
- (transitive, now rare) To expose, uncover.
- The gust of wind discovered a bone in the sand.
- (transitive, chess) To create by moving a piece out of another piece's line of attack.
- This move discovers an attack on a vital pawn.
- (transitive, archaic) To reveal (information); to divulge, make known.
- I discovered my plans to the rest of the team.
- Shakespeare
- Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover / The several caskets to this noble prince.
- Francis Bacon
- Prosperity doth best discover vice; but adversity doth best discover virtue.
- (transitive, obsolete) To reconnoitre, explore (an area).
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, Bk.V, ch.ix:
- they seyde the same, and were aggreed that Sir Clegis, Sir Claryon, and Sir Clement the noble, that they sholde dyscover the woodys, bothe the dalys and the downys.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, Bk.V, ch.ix:
- (obsolete) To manifest without design; to show; to exhibit.
- C. J. Smith
- The youth discovered a taste for sculpture.
- 1806, Alexander Hunter, Culina Famulatrix Medicinæ, p.125:
- The English Cooks keep all their Spices in separate boxes, but the French Cooks make a spicey mixture that does not discover a predominancy of any one of the spices over the others.
- C. J. Smith
Synonyms
- (expose something previously covered): expose, reveal, uncover
- (find something for the first time): come across, find
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
expose something previously covered
|
|
find something for the first time
|
|