discover

Word family

dis·cov·er /dɪsˈkʌvə $ -ər/ S2 W1 verb [transitiveT]

1 to find someone or something, either by accident or because you were looking for them 发现，找到

The body was discovered in a field.

尸体是在一块田地里找到的。

Forest Service crews often discover campfires that have not been put out completely.

林务局工作人员常常发现未完全熄灭的营火。

► see thesaurus at find

2 FIND OUTto find out something that you did not know about before 发现，发觉〔以前不知道的事物〕

The exercises let students discover math concepts on their own.

这些练习让学生自己发现数学概念。

discover (that)

She discovered that she was pregnant.

她发觉自己怀孕了。

discover who/what/how etc

His friends were shocked to discover how ill he was.

朋友们发现他病得这么厉害都惊愕不已。

n Grammar

In more formal English, you say it is discovered that something is true:

It was discovered that lightning was electrical.

3 FINDif someone discovers a new place, fact, substance etc, they are the first person to find it or know that it exists 发现，找到〔新的地方、事实、物质等〕

The Curies are best known for discovering radium.

居里夫妇以发现镭而最为知名。

4 to notice or try something for the first time and start to enjoy it 了解到，认识到

At fourteen, Louise discovered boys.

14岁时路易丝开始对男孩子有了兴趣。

5 SUCCESSFULto notice someone who is very good at something and help them to become successful and well known 发掘〔人才〕

a band that’s waiting to be discovered

尚待发掘的一支乐队

—discoverer noun [countableC]

Examples from the Corpus

discover• Police discovered 500 pounds of dynamite in the house.• She used to go to Hollywood parties, hoping to be discovered.• Australian researchers have discovered a substance in coffee that acts like morphine.• The Vikings may have discovered America long before Columbus.• The two girls were inseparable until Veronica discovered boys.• The planet Pluto was discovered in 1930.• Soon after hitting the water, I saw a Hurricane above me which I discovered later was Barber.• The basic information they needed had been discovered more than two centuries before.• Okay, a scientist reports the measurement of the temperature of a new discovered planet to be minus point eight degrees.• I began to learn the guitar, and discovered that I was pretty good at it.• It discovered that social problems-issues of motivation, attitude, and expectations-were a greater obstacle than lack of programs.• Fire officers are still trying to discover the cause of the fire.• Only after users discovered the flaw and began discussing it on the Internet did Intel admit the problem.• She discovered the job wasn't as easy as it might seem.• I have at last discovered the true secret to quitting smoking.• They never discovered who the murderer was.

discover who/what/how etc• The friend answered and a note of panic entered his voice when he discovered who it was.• But I discovered how much I had developed my own patterns, routines, and economies.• By asking this question you will discover what the employer is thinking.• Investigations are continuing to discover how the two cars came to collide at the Great Stainton crossroads on the narrow road.• What Fussell is looking for are the records of the little people, to discover what the war was like for them.• In addition, all of these young people are struggling to discover who they are amid this ongoing turmoil.• To discover how to find the component values of a synthesised high-pass filter, consider the particular case of a second-order type.• We discovered how to get in and, more important, how to get out afterwards.

Origin discover

(1300-1400) Old French descovrir, from Late Latin discooperire “to uncover”

dis·cov·er verb →n GRAMMAR1

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