discovered Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
    notice; observe; detect; find; discover.
    • She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water
    • We found traces of lead in the paint
  2. verb get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
    pick up; get a line; discover; see; hear; learn; find out; get wind; get word.
    • I learned that she has two grown-up children
    • I see that you have been promoted
  3. verb make a discovery, make a new finding
    discover; find.
    • Roentgen discovered X-rays
    • Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle
  4. verb make a discovery
    discover; find.
    • She found that he had lied to her
    • The story is false, so far as I can discover
  5. verb find unexpectedly
    happen upon; fall upon; attain; come upon; chance upon; discover; light upon; come across; strike; chance on.
    • the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb
    • she struck a goldmine
    • The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake
  6. verb make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
    disclose; reveal; unwrap; bring out; expose; let on; discover; divulge; break; let out; give away.
    • The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold
    • The actress won't reveal how old she is
    • bring out the truth
    • he broke the news to her
    • unwrap the evidence in the murder case
  7. verb see for the first time; make a discovery
    discover.
    • Who discovered the North Pole?
  8. verb identify as in botany or biology, for example
    name; describe; discover; identify; key; distinguish; key out.
  9. adjective satellite discovered or determined by scientific observation
    observed; ascertained.
    • variation in the ascertained flux depends on a number of factors
    • the discovered behavior norms
    • discovered differences in achievement
    • no explanation for the observed phenomena

WordNet