find

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English finden, from Old English findan, from Proto-West Germanic *finþan, from Proto-Germanic *finþaną (compare West Frisian fine, Low German finden, Dutch vinden, German finden, Danish finde, Norwegian Bokmål finne, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish finna), a secondary verb from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to go, pass; path bridge”), whence *póntoh₁s (compare English path, Old Irish étain (“I find”), áitt (“place”), Latin pōns (“bridge”), Ancient Greek πόντος (póntos, “sea”), Old Armenian հուն (hun, “ford”), Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧𐬙𐬃 (paṇtā̊), Sanskrit पथ (pathá, “path”), Proto-Slavic *pǫtь).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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"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. To locate
    1. (transitive) To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
      I found this shell on the beach
    2. (transitive) To encounter or discover something being searched for; to locate.
      I found my car keys. They were under the couch.
      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
        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[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        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.
      • 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. (ditransitive) Locate on behalf of another
      I found you a new place to live
  2. (ditransitive) To discover by study or experiment direct to an object or end.
    Water is found to be a compound substance.
  3. (transitive) To gain, as the object of desire or effort.
    to find leisure; to find means
  4. (transitive) To attain to; to arrive at; to acquire.
    Looks like he found a new vehicle for himself!
  5. (transitive) To meet with; to receive.
    • 1951 March, J. H. Lehmann, A. D. Johnson, W. C. Bridges, J. Michel, D. M. Green, “Cardiac Catheterization—A Diagnostic Aid in Congenital Heart Disease”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 170:
      Among newer procedures, the Robb and Steinberg contrast visualization of cardiac chambers and venous catheterization of the right heart have found the broadest study and application.
  6. (transitive) To point out.
    He kept finding faults with my work.
  7. (ditransitive) To decide that, to discover that, to form the opinion that.
    I find your argument unsatisfactory.
    I went looking for you in the bed we share, but tonight I found you not there.
  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
  9. (transitive, archaic) To supply; to furnish.
    to find food for workmen
  10. (transitive, archaic) To provide for
    He finds his nephew in money.
    • 1871, Charles Kingsley, “Port of Spain”, in At Last: A Christmas in the West Indies. […], volume I, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 135:
      They stand idle in the market-place, not because they have not been hired, but because they do not want to be hired; being able to live like the Lazzaroni of Naples, on "Midshipman's half-pay—nothing a day, and find yourself."
    • 1892, W. E. Swanton, Notes on New Zealand:
      the pay is good, the musterer receiving ten shillings a day, and all found, all the time he is engaged on the "run," even should he be compelled to remain idle on account of rain or mist.
  11. (intransitive, law) To determine or judge.
    The jury finds for the defendant.
  12. (transitive, ball games) To successfully pass to or shoot the ball into.
    Peters finds Jinkins, who is running down the left wing.
    • 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.
  13. (intransitive, hunting) To discover game.
    • 1945, Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love, Penguin, published 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.

Conjugation

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Conjugation of find
infinitive (to) find
present tense past tense
1st-person singular find found, fand*
2nd-person singular find, findest† found, fand*, foundest†
3rd-person singular finds, findeth† found, fand*
plural find
subjunctive find found, fand*
imperative find —
participles finding found, founden†

†Archaic or obsolete. * Dialectal.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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See also finding and found

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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find (plural finds)

  1. Anything that is found (usually valuable), as objects on an archeological site or a person with talent.
    • 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Alarei:
      Shepard: How did you get these things to your father?
      Tali: Sometimes I left packages at secure drops in civilized areas. Someone on Pilgrimage would see that it was shipped home.
      Tali: For very valuable finds, I'd signal home, and Father would send a small ship.
  2. The act of finding.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Synonyms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Danish

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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find

  1. imperative of finde

Middle English

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Noun

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find (plural findes)

  1. Alternative form of feend

Old English

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Verb

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find

  1. imperative singular of findan
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