0 past simple and past participle of discover
1 to find information, a place, or an object, especially for the first time:
Who discovered America?
We searched all morning for the missing papers and finally discovered them in a drawer.
[ + question word ] Scientists have discovered how to predict an earthquake.
[ + (that) ] She discovered (that) her husband was having an affair.
[ + to infinitive ] Following a routine check-up, Mrs Mason was discovered to have heart disease.
[ + obj + -ing verb ] The boss discovered him stealing money from the cash register.
Los Angeles is full of young actors working as waiters, hoping to be discovered by a movie agent.
She was annoyed to discover that her husband had taken her car keys.
Human rights campaigners have discovered documentary evidence of torture.
Police discovered the body hidden in thick undergrowth.
The skull was discovered when one of the clay objects accidentally broke.
Rather than abstract concepts, categories are treated as real entities which have been discovered by science.
When we attempted to confirm this, we discovered something quite different.
