find out

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

find out (third-person singular simple present finds out, present participle finding out, simple past and past participle found out)

1. (idiomatic) To discover, as by asking or investigating.

   I don't know who the twenty-first president of the United States was, but it should be very easy to find out.

   • 1912, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World‎^[1]:

     "Why shouldn't somethin' new and wonderful lie in such a country? And why shouldn't we be the men to find it out?"

   • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:

     I haven't booked, so I don't have a clue as to whether the service will be busy or not. Supposedly, reservations are compulsory, but I want to find out what would happen if you just turn up.

   • Discover definition

     To find or learn something for the first time. (1 of 8 discover definitions)

   • Asking definition

     present participle of ask

   • Investigating definition

     present participle of investigate
2. To discover or expose (someone) as disobedient, dishonest, etc.

   He had been fiddling the books for years, but finally he was found out.

   • Disobedient definition

     Not obedient.

   • Dishonest definition

     Not honest. (1 of 4 dishonest definitions)
3. To uncover a weakness in (someone).

   He may cope with the multiple choice questions, but the written exam will find him out.

   If you don't try, you do not find it out.

   • Weakness definition

     The condition of being weak. (1 of 3 weakness definitions)

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• outfind