found

1 of 5

past tense and past participle of find

found

2 of 5

adjective

1
: having all usual, standard, or reasonably expected equipment
the boat comes fully found, ready to goHoliday
2
: presented as or incorporated into an artistic work essentially as found
sculpture of fabric, wood, and other found materialsHilton Kramer

found

3 of 5

noun

: free food and lodging in addition to wages
they're paid $175 a month and foundNew Yorker

found

4 of 5

verb (1)

founded; founding; founds

transitive verb

1
: to take the first steps in building
2
: to set or ground on something solid : base
3
: to establish (something) often with provision for future maintenance
found an institution

found

5 of 5

verb

founded; founding; founds

transitive verb

: to melt (a material, such as metal) and pour into a mold

Examples of found in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Many critics said the fund was too small and found fault with the organization’s call for a cease-fire in March, which came five months after the start of the war. Kaitlyn Huamani, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024 Using an almost square aspect ratio, DP Pierce Derks makes the northern Ontario wilderness locations both lovely and sinister, with enough variety to the visual tactics that the film never gets stuck in found footage horror’s first-person-camera stylistic rut. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024 The third season of The Witcher has drawn to a close, with the finale ending on yet another cliffhanger and the found family of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri once again separated by circumstance and plot machinations. Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 30 July 2023 In the form of poetry commonly known as erasure, a poet prunes a found body of language—often an official document or a canonical work of literature—whose ablations paradoxically lead to revelation, uncovering subtext, lyricism, lost histories, and politics barely hidden beneath the surface. Nicole Sealey, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023 Curtis holds his found family of friends very, very dear to him. Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 June 2023 Legge and his cinematographer, Oona Menges, use period cameras and lenses to shoot the film and otherwise employ found footage. Vulture, 23 May 2023 And Jonathan Honey, 33, was found on April 1, a day after he was last seen at a food truck on Rainey Street. TEXANS SOUNDING SAFETY ALARMS AFTER LATEST BODY FOUND IN LAKE Autopsy reports were not publicly available, but police said the victims showed no signs of trauma or foul play. Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 17 Apr. 2023 Townsend’s whimsical clay sculptures often incorporate found elements from the roadside. The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2023
Verb
The second oldest winery is Beaulieu Vineyard which was founded in 1900. Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 2 May 2024 The unscripted production company was originally founded over 25 years ago by David Collins and Michael Williams, who lead the company along with chief creative officer Rob Eric. Joe Otterson, Variety, 2 May 2024 The awards were founded and conceived by legendary musician Herb Alpert and his wife, Grammy-winning vocalist Lani Hall. Paul Grein, Billboard, 2 May 2024 Arts & Letters Daily was founded in 1998, and its design has not changed since. Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 1 May 2024 Written by philosopher Philodemus, the History of the Academy describes the school Plato founded in Athens in the fourth century B.C.E. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 May 2024 Hipgnosis, founded in 2018, helped drive the price of music catalogs to new heights by paying top dollar to acquire catalogs from a large number of top producers and songwriters, with Mercuriadis often saying that music catalogs were as valuable an asset as oil or gold. Jem Aswad, Variety, 20 Apr. 2024 The group, founded by legendary Fort Worth activist and educator Reby Cary, works to empower Black participation in the Republican Party while being a resource for Black Americans at all levels of government. Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Apr. 2024 Bird, a five-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA and NCAA basketball champion, and Rapinoe, a two-time FIFA World Cup-winning soccer superstar, founded the company in partnership with sports media and commerce company TOGETHXR, and with the mission to championing diverse stories. Variety, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'found.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from past participle of find entry 1

Noun

from past participle of find entry 1

Verb (1)

Middle English founden, borrowed from Anglo-French fonder, funder, going back to Latin fundāre, derivative of fundus "bottom, base, foundation" — more at bottom entry 1

Verb

borrowed from Middle French fondre "to melt, cast," going back to Old French, going back to Latin fundere "to pour, shed, cast, send forth, disperse," going back to Indo-European hu-n-d-, present tense derivative of heu̯d- "pour" (also Germanic, in Old English gēotan "to pour, shed," Old High German giozan, Old Norse gjóta "to drop, throw, give birth [of animals]," Gothic giutan "to pour"), extended form of Indo-European heu̯- "pour," whence Greek chéō, cheîn "to pour, shed," Tocharian B kewu "I will pour," Sanskrit juhoti "(s/he) pours, sacrifices"

First Known Use

Adjective

1758, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1830, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1562, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of found was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near found

Cite this Entry

“Found.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/found. Accessed 5 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

found

1 of 3

past and past participle of find

found

2 of 3 verb
: establish sense 3a
found a colony
founded the company in 1847

found

3 of 3 verb
: to melt (metal) and pour into a mold
Etymology

Verb

Middle English founden "found, establish," from early French funder (same meaning), from Latin fundare (same meaning), from fundus "bottom, base" — related to fund, fundamental

Verb

from early French fondre "to pour, melt," from Latin fundere (same meaning) — related to font entry 2, founder entry 2

Legal Definition

found

1 of 2

past and past participle of find

found

2 of 2 transitive verb
: to establish (as an institution) often with provision for future maintenance

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