Skip to the word

Added 7 October 2026

find

/ˈfɑjnd/ verb

In Latin: inveniō, nancīscor, reperiō Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about find at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To locate. To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
I found this shell on the beach.
To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
I found this shell on the beach.
To encounter or discover something being searched for; to locate.
I found my car keys. They were under the couch.

noun

Anything that is found (usually valuable), as objects on an archeological site or a person with talent.
The act of finding.
(Can we add an example for this sense?)

Origin

From Middle English finden, from Old English findan, from Proto-West Germanic *finþan, from Proto-Germanic *finþaną, a secondary verb from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to go, pass; path bridge”). See also West Frisian fine, Low German finden, Dutch vinden, German finden, Danish finde, Norwegian Bokmål finne, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish finna; also English path, Old Irish étain (“I find”), áitt (“place”), Latin pōns (“bridge”), Ancient Greek πόντος (póntos, “sea”), Old Armenian հուն (hun, “ford”), Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧𐬙𐬃 (paṇtā̊), Sanskrit पथ (pathá, “path”), Proto-Slavic *pǫtь.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word