Definition of eureka
—used to express triumph on a discovery
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When people exclaim Eureka! they are reenacting a legendary event in the life of the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes. While wrestling with the problem of how to determine the purity of gold, he made the sudden realization that the buoyancy of an object placed in water is equal in magnitude to the weight of the water the object displaces. According to one popular version of the legend, he made his discovery at a public bathhouse, whereupon he leapt out of his bath, exclaimed “Heureka! Heureka!” (“I have found it!”), and ran home naked through the streets. The absence of a contemporary source for this anecdote has done nothing to diminish its popularity over the centuries.
Definition of eureka
: marked by usually sudden triumphant discovery
- a eureka moment
Recent Examples of eureka from the Web
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Then the host had a eureka moment that changed television for good.
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The eureka moment worked, with the tiny symbol helping to imprint the brand name on consumer tastes.
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A few years ago, Branson—a 35-year-old branding professional with a three-centuries-old family farm in the north of England—had a sort of eureka moment.
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In 1990, the physicist Scott Stornetta had a eureka moment while getting ice cream with his family at a Friendly’s restaurant in Morristown, N.J.
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As the future of the traditional Berber region by Mount Boutmezguida floundered, a mathematician whose family came from the area had a eureka moment gleaned from living overseas – using fog to make water.
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Sure, journalists might focus on the eureka moment or the fascinating details of the methods some scientist used.
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The eureka moment howled from a living room in Berlin.
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Advertisement This eureka moment played into a major fashion trend at the time.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eureka.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of eureka
1948
Definition of eureka
: I have found (it)
—motto of California
Did You Know?
When people exclaim Eureka! they are reenacting a legendary event in the life of the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes. While wrestling with the problem of how to determine the purity of gold, he made the sudden realization that the buoyancy of an object placed in water is equal in magnitude to the weight of the water the object displaces. According to one popular version of the legend, he made his discovery at a public bathhouse, whereupon he leapt out of his bath, exclaimed “Heureka! Heureka!” (“I have found it!”), and ran home naked through the streets. The absence of a contemporary source for this anecdote has done nothing to diminish its popularity over the centuries.
EUREKA Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of eureka for English Language Learners
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—used to express excitement when a discovery has been made
Learn More about eureka
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See words that rhyme with eureka Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about eureka
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