Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - find

~1 past tense and past participle found ~ v 1 »BY SEARCHING« to discover or see something that you have been searching for  (I can't find the car keys. | Let's hope we can find a parking space. | No-one has found a solution to this problem. | find sb sth)  (I found him a nice second-hand car.)  (- see obtain) 2 »ARRIVE« to discover that someone or something is in a particular condition or doing a particular thing when you arrive or first see them  (I'm sure we'll find her hard at work when we get home. | Michael woke up to find his bedroom ankle-deep in water. | find sb doing sth)  (Carrie went into the kitchen, where she found them giggling together.) + (that)  (When I got to school I found that class was cancelled.) 3 »BY STUDY« to discover or learn something by study, tests etc  (Will we ever find a cure for the disease? | The liquid was found to contain 7.4g of phenylamine.) + tha  (It was found that 80% of young people borrow money.) 4 »THINK/FEEL« to have a particular feeling or idea about something  (I hate flying - I find it absolutely terrifying. | Lots of women I know find him attractive.) 5 find sth easy/difficult/impossible if you find something difficult or easy it seems difficult or easy to you when you do it  (He said that, after Russian, I should find German easy. | find it difficult/easy etc to do sth)  (He found it almost impossible to express what he wanted to say.) 6 »BY EXPERIENCE« to learn or know something by experience + (that)  (You might find that his work improves now he's going to a new school. | One thing I find about living in the big city is that people are more friendly than I expected.) find sb/sth doing sth  (You find more women entering the film business now.) 7 »BY CHANCE« to discover something by chance, especially something useful or interesting  (I found a purse in the street. | We found a really good bar near the hotel.) 8 »STH YOU NEED« to achieve or get something that you need  (Finding accommodation in Berlin can be a nightmare. | Two lonely people who managed to find happiness together.) 9 »REALIZE« to notice or realize a fact, often a fact that is surprising + (that)  (He got up to leave and found that the door was jammed. | I found I was really looking forward to going back to work.) 10 »ANIMALS/PLANTS« if something is found somewhere, it lives or exists there  (This species is only found in West Africa.) 11 »MONEY/TIME/ENERGY« to have enough money, time, energy etc to be able to do something you want to do  (He has to find -1000 to repay the loan. | I wouldn't mind learning a language, but I can't find the time right now. | David wanted to defend himself, but couldn't find the courage to speak up.) 12 find your way to reach a place by discovering the right way to get there  (Will you be able to find your way back to the house?) 13 find its way if something finds its way somewhere, it arrives or gets there after some time  (Only one of her inventions has found its way into the shops.) 14 find yourself doing sth to gradually realize that you are doing something, although you had not intended or planned to do it  (Peter, who was usually shy, found himself talking to the girls.) 15 find yourself in/at etc a) to realize that you are in a particular situation, especially a bad one, that you did not expect  (If you find yourself worrying about things, call me. | They suddenly found themselves without a goalkeeper.) b) to realize that you have arrived somewhere without intending to  (After wandering around, we found ourselves back at the hotel.) 16 find yourself often humorous to discover what you are really like and what you want to do  (She went to India to find herself.) 17 find sb guilty/find sb not guilty to officially decide that someone is guilty or not guilty of something  (Galbraith was found not guilty and set free.) + of  (A clearly innocent man has been found guilty of a serious crime.) 18 find comfort/pleasure/fulfilment in to experience a good feeling because of something  (He found great satisfaction in kneading the dough and baking the bread.) 19 find fault with to criticize someone or something, often unfairly and frequently  (The teacher would always find fault with our grammar.) 20 find favour (with) be liked or approved of by someone  (The recipes rapidly found favour with restaurant owners.) 21 find in sb's favour/find in favour of sb to judge that someone is right or not guilty  (The Tribunal found in favour of the defendant.) 22 find your feet to get used to a new situation, especially one that is difficult at first  (Matt's only been at the school two weeks and he hasn't found his feet yet.) 23 find its mark/target if an arrow (1), bullet etc finds its target, it hits what it is supposed to 24 find your tongue to manage to speak after being too nervous to say anything 25 be found wanting formal to not be good enough  (Ryan's proposals have been examined, and found wanting by the rest of the team.) 26 all found BrE used to mean that in addition to your wages you get food and a room  (The cook gets paid -90 a week all found.) find out phr v 1 find sth out to learn information, after trying to discover it or by chance + who/what/how etc  (He hurried off to find out what the problem was.) find out sth  (We never found out her real name.) + tha  (I found out that he was having an affair with another woman.) + abou  (I need to find out more about these night courses.) + if  (A number of tests have been carried out to find out if these drugs have any effect.)  (- see know1) 2 find sb out to discover that someone has been doing something dishonest or illegal  (After years of defrauding the company, he was finally found out.) find against sb phr v T not in passive law to judge that someone is right or not guilty  (The judge found against the plaintiff.) find for sb phr v T not in passive law to judge that someone is wrong or guilty  (The judge found for the plaintiff.) ~2 n a find something very good or valuable that you discover by chance  (That little Greek restaurant was a real find!)