discover and find share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. discover means “discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of”. find means “come upon, as if by accident; meet with”. find is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/dɪˈskʌvɚ/
1.v.discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
“She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water”
2.v.get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
“I learned that she has two grown-up children”
3.v.make a discovery, make a new finding
“Roentgen discovered X-rays”
/ˈfaɪnd/
1.v.come upon, as if by accident; meet with
“We find this idea in Plato”
2.v.discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
“She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water”
3.v.come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost
“Did you find your glasses?”
| discover | find | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /dɪˈskʌvɚ/ | /ˈfaɪnd/ |
| Said | di-SKUHV-ur | fahynd |
| Syllables | 3 | 1 |
| Letters | 8 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | verb | verb, noun |
| Senses | 8 | 18 |
| How common | Common | Core |
| Synonyms | detect, observe, find | happen, chance, bump |
Full entry for discover · Full entry for find · More comparisons