discover
[verb]
Synonyms:
- find, come across, come upon, dig up, locate, turn up, uncover, unearth
- find out, ascertain, detect, learn, notice, perceive, realize, recognize, uncover

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Contrasted words: repress, suppress, miss, overlook, disregard, ignore
Related Idioms: get wise to
Related Words: advertise, proclaim, publish, descry, detect, encounter, espy, hit (on or upon), meet (with), spot, discern, note, observe, perceive

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English Thesaurus: find, discover, locate, come across something, stumble on/across something, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

dis‧cov‧er S2 W1 /dɪsˈkʌvə $ -ər/ verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: discoverer, discovery; verb: discover]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: descovrir, from Late Latin discooperire 'to uncover']

1. to find someone or something, either by accident or because you were looking for them:
The body was discovered in a field.
Forest Service crews often discover campfires that have not been put out completely.

2. to find out something that you did not know about before:
The exercises let students discover math concepts on their own.
discover (that)
She discovered that she was pregnant.
discover who/what/how etc
His friends were shocked to discover how ill he was.

3. if someone discovers a new place, fact, substance etc, they are the first person to find it or know that it exists:
The Curies are best known for discovering radium.

4. to notice or try something for the first time and start to enjoy it:
At fourteen, Louise discovered boys.

5. to notice someone who is very good at something and help them to become successful and well-known:
a band that’s waiting to be discovered
—discoverer noun [countable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

discover
verb
ADV. quickly, soon We soon discovered we'd been mistaken.
suddenly | subsequently | eventually
VERB + DISCOVER be amazed to, be astonished to, be astounded to, be a surprise to, be surprised to She was surprised to discover he was perfectly capable around the house.
be alarmed to, be appalled to, be dismayed to, be horrified to, be a shock to, be shocked to It was a terrible shock to discover the full extent of the problem.
be delighted to, be fascinated to, be intrigued to | be fascinating to It would be fascinating to discover more about the town's history.
be difficult to | be possible to | aim to | attempt to, try to trying to discover the truth
be able/unable to
PHRASES an attempt to discover sth, newly/recently discovered recently discovered evidence
only to discover sth I arrived at the campsite, only to discover that it was closed for the winter.
an opportunity to discover sth, waiting to be discovered There's great talent out there just waiting to be discovered.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

find to get or see something that you have been searching for:
Have you found your passport yet?
Police later found the car abandoned in a wood.
discover to find something that was hidden or that people did not know about before:
A second bomb has been discovered in south London.
locate formal to find the exact position of something:
The airline are still trying to locate my luggage.
Online maps make it easy to locate almost any place in the world.
come across something to find something unexpectedly when you are not looking for it:
I came across some old letters from my father in my drawer.
stumble on/across something to find something unexpectedly, especially something very important:
They may have stumbled across some vital evidence.
Completely by chance we had stumbled on the biggest hit of the year.
trace to find someone or something that has disappeared, especially by a careful process of collecting information:
She had given up all hope of tracing her missing daughter.
track somebody/something down to find someone or something that is difficult to find by searching in different places:
I’ve been trying to track down a book that’s out of print.
The police managed to track down the killer.
unearth to find something that has been hidden or lost for a long time, by digging or searching for it:
In 1796, a carved stone was unearthed near the burial mound.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲