Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Find

Find

(fīnd)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Found
(found)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Finding
.]
[AS.
findan
; akin to D.
vinden
, OS. & OHG.
findan
, G.
finden
, Dan.
finde
, icel. & Sw.
finna
, Goth.
finþan
; and perh. to L.
petere
to seek, Gr.
πίπτειν
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.
Shakespeare
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 £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.
Shakespeare
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?

Find

,
Verb.
I.
(Law)
To determine an issue of fact, and to declare such a determination to a court;
as, the jury
find
for the plaintiff
.
Burrill.

Find

,
Noun.
Anything found; a discovery of anything valuable; especially, a deposit, discovered by archæologists, of objects of prehistoric or unknown origin.

Webster 1828 Edition

Find

FIND

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. found. [L. venio; but in sense, with invenio. The primary sense is to come to, to rush, to fall on, to meet, to set on.]
1.
Literally, to come to; to meet; hence, to discover by the eye; to gain first sight or knowledge of something lost; to recover either by searching for it or by accident.
Doth she not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? and when she hath found it -
Luke 15.
2.
To meet; to discover something not before seen or known.
He saith to him, we have found the Messiah. John 1.
3.
To obtain by seeking.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.
Matt. 7.
4.
To meet with.
In woods and forests thou art found.
5.
To discover or know by experience.
The torrid zone is now found habitable.
6.
To reach; to attain to; to arrive at.
Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it. Matt. 7.
7.
To discover by study, experiment or trial. Air and water are found to be compound substances. Alchimists long attempted to find the philosopher's stone, but it is not yet found.
8.
To gain; to have; as, to find leisure for a visit.
9.
To perceive; to observe; to learn. I found his opinions to accord with my own.
10.
To catch; to detect.
When first found in a lie, talk to him of it as a strange monstrous matter.
In this sense find is usually followed by out.
11.
To meet.
In ills their business and their glory find.
12.
To have; to experience; to enjoy.
Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure. Is. 58.
13.
To select; to choose; to designate.
I have found David my servant. Ps. 89.
14.
To discover and declare the truth of disputed facts; to come to a conclusion and decide between parties, as a jury. The jury find a verdict for the plaintiff or defendant. They find the accused to be guilty.
15.
To determine and declare by verdict. The jury have found a large sum in damages for the plaintiff.
16.
To establish or pronounce charges alleged to be true. The grand jury have found a bill against the accused, or they find a true bill.
17.
To supply; to furnish. Who will find the money or provisions for this expedition? We will find ourselves with provisions and clothing.
18.
To discover or gain knowledge of by touching or by sounding. We first sounded and found bottom at the depth of ninety five fathoms on the Sole bank.
To find one's self, to be; to fare in regard to ease or pain, health or sickness. Pray, sir, how do you find yourself this morning.
To find in, to supply; to furnish; to provide.
He finds his nephew in money, victuals and clothes.
1.
To find out. To invent; to discover something before unknown.
A man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold - and to find out every device. 2Chon. 2.
2.
To unriddle; to solve; as, to find out the meaning of a parable of an enigma.
3.
To discover; to obtain knowledge of what is hidden; as, to find out a secret.
4.
To understand; to comprehend.
Canst thou by searching find out God? Job 11.
5.
To detect; to discover; to bring to light; as, to find out a thief or a theft; to find out a trick.
To find fault with, to blame; to censure.

Definition 2024

find

find

English

Verb

"Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus", a painting by John William Waterhouse

find ‎(third-person singular simple present finds, present participle finding, simple past found or (dialectal) fand, past participle found or (archaic) founden)

  1. (transitive) To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      Searching the window for a flint, I found / This paper, thus sealed up.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Cowley
      In woods and forests thou art found.
  2. (transitive) To encounter or discover something being searched for; to locate.
    I found my car keys. They were under the couch.‎
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
      I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant.
    • 2011 January 25, Paul Fletcher, “Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich (agg. 3-1)”, in BBC:
      Van Persie scored a hat-trick against Wigan on Saturday and should have found the net again after Bendtner found him at the far post but the Dutchman's header rebounded to safety off the crossbar.
    • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field. Dr Mincer and Dr Amaral-Zettler found evidence of them on their marine plastic, too.
  3. (transitive) To discover by study or experiment direct to an object or end.
    Water is found to be a compound substance.
  4. (transitive) To gain, as the object of desire or effort.
    to find leisure; to find means
  5. (transitive) To attain to; to arrive at; to acquire.
    Looks like he found a new vehicle for himself!
  6. (transitive) To point out.
    He kept finding faults with my work.‎
  7. (transitive) To decide that, to discover that, to form the opinion that.
    I find your argument unsatisfactory.‎
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      I find you passing gentle.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Cowley
      The torrid zone is now found habitable.
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
      “[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes […] . And then, when you see [the senders], you probably find that they are the most melancholy old folk with malignant diseases. […]”
  8. (transitive) To arrive at, as a conclusion; to determine as true; to establish.
    to find a verdict; to find a true bill (of indictment) against an accused person
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      to find his title with some shows of truth
  9. (transitive, archaic) To supply; to furnish.
    to find food for workmen
  10. (transitive, archaic) To provide for
    He finds his nephew in money.
    • (Can we date this quote?) London Times
      Wages £14 and all found.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Charles Dickens
      Nothing a day and find yourself.
  11. (intransitive, law) To determine or judge.
    The jury finds for the defendant.‎
  12. (intransitive, hunting) To discover game.
    • 1945, Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love, Penguin 2010, page 57:
      They found at once, and there was a short sharp run, during which Linda and Tony, both in a somewhat showing-off mood, rode side by side over the stone walls.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:deem

Antonyms

Derived terms

  • hard-to-find

Related terms

See also finding and found

Translations

Noun

find ‎(plural finds)

  1. Anything that is found (usually valuable), as objects on an archeological site or a person with talent.
  2. The act of finding.

Synonyms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: Lord · de · whole · #190: find · got · let · world

Anagrams

Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fend/, [fenˀ]

Verb

find

  1. imperative of finde

Etymology

From Middle English finden, from Old English findan, from Proto-Germanic *finþaną (compare West Frisian fine, Low German finden, Dutch vinden, German finden, Danish finde, Swedish finna), a secondary verb from Proto-Indo-European *pent- ‎(“to go, pass; path bridge”), *pontHo- (compare English path, Old Irish étain ‎(“I find”), áitt ‎(“place”), Latin pōns ‎(“bridge”), Ancient Greek πόντος ‎(póntos, “sea”), Old Armenian հուն ‎(hun, “ford”), Avestan [script needed] ‎(pantā) (gen. [script needed] ‎(paθō)), Sanskrit पथ ‎(patha, “path”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: fīnd, IPA(key): /faɪnd/
  • Rhymes: -aɪnd
  • Homophone: fined

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