- discover */*/*/
- UK [dɪˈskʌvə(r)] / US [dɪˈskʌvər]
verb [transitive]
Word forms "discover":
present tense I/you/we/they discover he/she/it discovers present participle discovering past tense discovered past participle discoveredMetaphor:Discovering things such as facts and information is like finding them by digging or searching in the ground. Let me know if you dig up anything about him. ♦ I unearthed some useful facts and figures. ♦ The facts only came to light after a long investigation. ♦ We left no stone unturned in our search for the truth. ♦ The book is a mine/goldmine of information. ♦ I think that this will prove a rich seam to mine for your research. ♦ It took me a long time to find it, but I finally struck gold/oil. ♦ You need to read a lot more: you've only just begun to scratch the surface. ♦ You need to put in a lot of spadework. ♦ The journalists were grubbing around for something to print. ♦ They raked up a lot of scandals. ➡ knowledge, secret1) to find out something that you did not know beforediscover (that):The two men decided to discover the truth for themselves.
discover whether:He became very friendly when he discovered that she was my sister.
Checks are made to discover whether applicants have a criminal record.
2) to find a place, fact, or substance that no one knew about beforeWilliam Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781.
New antimalarial drugs have been discovered.
See:invent3) to find out about a place or activity that is new to youWhy not spend a week discovering the beauty of Sri Lanka?
I have only recently discovered the benefits of meditation.
4) to find someone or something that was missing or hiddenPolice discovered his body on wasteland yesterday.
I finally discovered the letter at the back of the drawer.
5) [usually passive] to recognize the ability of someone such as a writer or performer and help to make them famous
English dictionary. 2014.