To discover by sight or feeling; come or light upon, either by seeking or unexpectedly; encounter or meet with for the first time.To discover by methodical means; ascertain or make out by systematic exploration, trial, or study: as, to find bottom by sounding; to find a bullet in a wound by probing; an effort to find the philosopher's stone; to find one's way in the dark; to find the answer to a problem.To discover the use of, or the way to make or use; invent; devise.To discover or ascertain by experience; learn from observation or sensation: as, the climate was found to be unpropitious; to find a friend in a supposed enemy.To succeed in attaining; gain by effort: as, to find leisure for a visit; to find safety in flight.To come to or into by natural causes or by force of circumstances; arrive at; reach: as, water finds its level; the picture found its way to the auction-room.To detect; catch: commonly with out. See to find out, below.In law, to determine after judicial inquiry: as, the jury found him guilty; to find a verdict for the plaintiff.To supply; provide; furnish: as, to find money or provisions for an expedition.To support; maintain; provide for: followed by the direct object of the person (often reflexive), with in, formerly also with, before the thing provided: as, to receive ten dollars a week and find one's self.To compose; set in order; arrange.To reach home to; take the fancy of; appeal to the taste or liking of.See def. 10.In law, to determine an issue after judicial inquiry; direct judgment on the merits or facts of a case: as, the jury finds for the plaintiff.n. A discovery of something valuable; the thing found: as, a find in the gold-fields; finds of prehistoric tools. The use of find as a noun has become common only since its application in recent times to discoveries of archæological remains.To discover scent or game: said of dogs in the field.
