Definition

1. Verb (transitive):

   • To discover or learn a fact, piece of information, or the truth, often through investigation, effort, or by chance.
   • To discover that someone has done something wrong or deceitful.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To become aware of or ascertain something.

Usage

• Transitive use: The verb is followed by a direct object (what is discovered) or a clause beginning with 'that', 'if', or 'whether'.
• Intransitive use: The verb can be used without a direct object, often followed by a prepositional phrase like 'about something'.
• It often implies a process of investigation or a surprising discovery.

Examples

• Transitive:
  • I need to find out her address.
  • They found out that the meeting was canceled.
  • The teacher found out who cheated on the test.
• Intransitive:
  • How did you find out?
  • I just found out about the party yesterday.

Advanced Usage

• "to find someone out": To discover that someone has been doing something dishonest or wrong.
  • He was stealing from the company for years before they finally found him out.
• Used to emphasize the act of obtaining specific, often hidden, information.
  • The journalist worked for months to find out the truth about the scandal.

Variants and Related Words

• Discovery (n): The act of finding something.
• Uncover (v): To discover something secret or hidden.
• Ascertain (v): To find out something with certainty (more formal).

Synonyms

• Discover
• Learn
• Determine
• Uncover
• Detect

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Find out about: To get information concerning a specific topic or event.
  • When did you find out about the new policy?
• Figure out: To understand or solve something by thinking. (Note: 'Figure out' focuses more on solving a problem or puzzle, while 'find out' focuses on obtaining information.)

Related Idioms

• Find out the hard way: To learn something through unpleasant experience rather than by being told.
  • He found out the hard way that touching a hot stove is painful.

Verb

1. trap; especially in an error or in a reprehensible act
   • He was caught out
   • She was found out when she tried to cash the stolen checks
2. find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort
   • I want to see whether she speaks French
   • See whether it works
   • find out if he speaks Russian
   • Check whether the train leaves on time
3. get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
   • I learned that she has two grown-up children
   • I see that you have been promoted
4. establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
   • find the product of two numbers
   • The physicist who found the elusive particle won the Nobel Prize