found
found
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling of found is /faʊnd/.
Phonetic Breakdown 🗣️
The word "found" is a single syllable composed of four distinct sounds:
f: The /f/ sound, a voiceless labiodental fricative, is made by placing your top teeth on your bottom lip and pushing air through.
ou: The /aʊ/ sound, a diphthong, starts with the vowel in "ah" and glides to the vowel in "boot." It's the same sound as in "house" or "now."
n: The /n/ sound, an alveolar nasal, is made by placing the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your top teeth and letting air pass through your nose.
d: The /d/ sound, a voiced alveolar stop, is made by briefly stopping the airflow by pressing your tongue against the ridge behind your top teeth and then releasing it.
Word Form Variations
The word found has different forms depending on its use. It is most commonly the past tense of the verb to find. It is also its own distinct verb meaning "to establish."
Forms related to "to find" (to discover):
Infinitive: to find
Present: find(s)
Past: found
Present Participle: finding
Past Participle: found
Forms related to "to found" (to establish):
Infinitive: to found
Present: found(s)
Past: founded
Present Participle: founding
Past Participle: founded
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Verb (Past tense of 'find')
To have located or come across someone or something, either accidentally or after a search.
Synonyms: discovered, located, uncovered, encountered, spotted
Antonyms: lost, misplaced, missed, overlooked
Verb (to establish)
To serve as the base for or to bring into existence; to create or establish an institution, city, or idea.
Synonyms: established, created, started, instituted, launched, chartered
Antonyms: dissolved, abolished, dismantled, demolished
Adjective
Describing something that has been discovered, especially after being lost or discarded. This form is often used in phrases like "found object" or "found art."
Synonyms: discovered, recovered, retrieved, salvaged
Antonyms: lost, missing, undiscovered
Examples of Use
In Literature 📚
As the past tense of "find," it's often used to describe a moment of discovery or realization.
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to 'glorify God and enjoy him forever.' ... I found that it was mean, and I saw that it was good." (Henry David Thoreau, Walden)
In News and Publications 📰
In journalism, found is frequently used to report the results of studies, investigations, and discoveries.
As the past tense of "find": "Archaeologists in Norway said they have found what they believe to be the world's oldest runestone — a square, brown sandstone block with runic inscriptions dating back 2,000 years." (Associated Press, January 2023)
As the verb "to establish": "Chouinard, a rock climber who became a reluctant billionaire, founded Patagonia in 1973." (The New York Times, September 2022)
In Entertainment 🎬
From song lyrics to movie dialogue, found can signal a pivotal moment of emotional or physical discovery.
In music: "We found love in a hopeless place." (Rihanna, "We Found Love")
In film, as the past tense of "find": "I have found my rightful place in the world." (Scar, The Lion King)
In film, regarding the "found footage" genre: "The Blair Witch Project popularized the found footage technique, where the entire film is presented as discovered video recordings."
In Everyday Speech 🗣️
In general conversation, found is used in its most common and straightforward ways.
As the past tense of "find": "I finally found my keys! They were hiding under the mail."
As the verb "to establish": "Our community garden was founded on the principle that everyone should have access to fresh vegetables."
As an adjective: "Her entire apartment is decorated with found objects she picked up from thrift stores and flea markets."
10 Famous Quotes Using Found
Lost time is never found again. (Benjamin Franklin)
I have not failed; I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. (Thomas Edison)
A man who has not found something he is willing to die for is not fit to live. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. (Mother Teresa)
I have found that if you love life, life will love you back. (Arthur Rubinstein)
I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver. (Maya Angelou)
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way—things I had no words for. (Georgia O'Keeffe)
Eureka! I have found it! (Archimedes)
I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. (Harry S. Truman)
I found him whom my soul loveth. (The Bible, Song of Solomon 3:4)
Etymology
The word found is interesting because its two main meanings come from completely different origins. It's a great example of how two unrelated words can end up looking and sounding the same over time.
1. Found as in "Discovered" 🔍
This version of found is simply the past tense of the verb to find. Its history is purely Germanic.
It traces back to the Old English word findan, which meant "to discover, come upon, or meet with."
Findan itself comes from a much older Proto-Germanic root, findaną.
The original Proto-Indo-European root was likely pent-, which meant "to tread" or "to go."
The logical leap is that you "find" something by walking around and stumbling upon it. So, the act of treading or walking became associated with the act of discovery. This meaning has been part of English since its earliest days, well before the 12th century.
2. Found as in "Established" 🏛️
This version of found, as in "to found a city" or "found an organization," has a completely separate origin from Latin.
It entered English around the 1300s from the Old French word fonder, which meant "to establish, lay the groundwork, or set the foundation."
The French word came directly from the Latin verb fundāre, meaning "to lay a foundation."
This Latin verb comes from the noun fundus, which means "bottom," "base," or "foundation."
So, when you found something like a school or a company, you are literally laying its foundation. This is the same root that gives us words like foundation, fundamental, and profundity (deepness, from pro- meaning "forth" and -fundus meaning "bottom"). This version of the word was adopted into English after the Norman conquest of England, which brought a huge amount of French and Latin vocabulary into the language.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Found
Lost and found: A designated place for keeping items that have been lost so their owners can reclaim them.
To be found wanting: To be judged as inadequate, insufficient, or lacking in a necessary quality after being tested or evaluated.
To have found one's footing (or voice, or place): To become stable, confident, and comfortable in a new environment or role.
Found footage 🎥: A film genre in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as discovered video recordings.
New-found: An adjective used to describe something that has been recently discovered or acquired, such as "new-found respect" or "new-found freedom."
Found object 🎨: An item discovered by an artist, often something not typically considered artistic, which is then presented as a work of art.
Wouldn't be found dead…: A hyperbolic phrase used to express extreme dislike for a place, activity, or style (e.g., "I wouldn't be found dead in that restaurant.").
Found money 💰: A term for money that is acquired unexpectedly, like finding cash on the ground or receiving an unforeseen refund.
Found family: A group of unrelated people who have chosen to form a close, supportive, family-like relationship.
To be found guilty/innocent ⚖️: The formal verdict delivered in a court of law that declares a defendant's legal responsibility for a crime.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of found from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
