find
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
How often you will meet it
Rank 212 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 107,856 times across 155,552 chapters — 0.051% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 500 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
verb
- come upon, as if by accident; meet with also: happen, chance, bump, encounter We find this idea in PlatoI happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here
- discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of also: detect, observe, discover, notice She detected high levels of lead in her drinking waterWe found traces of lead in the paint
- come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost also: regain Did you find your glasses?I cannot find my gloves!
- establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study also: determine, find out, ascertain find the product of two numbersThe physicist who found the elusive particle won the Nobel Prize
- come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds also: feel I feel that he doesn't like meI find him to be obnoxious
- perceive or be contemporaneous with also: witness, see We found Republicans winning the officesYou'll see a lot of cheating in this school
find in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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He must find her--he could not wait now.
The Courage of the Commonplace · Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews · Chapter 1
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Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming.
The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde · Chapter 1
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I wandered to see where I could find a place convenient for my abode.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures · Daniel Defoe · Chapter 1
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Four better types of the Blue-grass and of the mountains it would be hard to find.
The Heart of the Hills · John, Jr. Fox · Chapter 1
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And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1