discovers

Discovers is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb discover. It is used when the subject is he, she, or it, as in The scientist discovers a new species. The base form is discover, and its other forms include discovered (past and past participle), discovering (present participle), and the noun discovery.

The core meaning of discover is to find something that was previously unknown or hidden, or to become aware of something through exploration, examination, or insight. This can refer to physical objects, such as discovering a fossil, or to information, such as discovering a flaw in a design or discovering a new pattern in data. The term is common across scientific, investigative, journalistic, and everyday contexts.

Etymology traces discover to Old French descouvrir, from Latin dis- (un- or apart) and aperire (to open). The sense evolved from opening or uncovering something to making something known or found for the first time.

Usage notes: discover is typically transitive, taking a direct object (discover something). The phrase “to discover that” introduces a clause describing what was found or realized. It is often contrasted with synonyms like find, uncover, reveal, and detect, each carrying slightly different implications about how the knowledge was obtained or presented.

Related terms include discovery (the act or process of discovering, or something that has been discovered) and discoverer (one who discovers). Discovers, the verb form, is mainly encountered in prose describing ongoing or completed discoveries.