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
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 Holley’s sculptures are constructed from found materials in the tradition of African American sculpture. Brent Lang, Variety, 22 Mar. 2023
Verb
The institution, founded in 1969, smack in the middle of the exhibition timeline, has now branched out into four satellites — Gwacheon, Deoksugung, Cheongju and Seoul, most of them in and around the nation’s capital. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Having checked in here and with literary pursuits top of mind, take the five-minute stroll to Trinity University, a walled enclave founded in the 16th century. Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2024 Oliver Peoples — founded in 1987 in Los Angeles and headed by CEO Rocco Basilico — is owned by Luxottica and has also done collabs with Brunello Cucinelli, The Row and Khaite. Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024 It was founded by physicist Larry Shaw, who at the time was on staff at the Exploratorium, a science museum in San Francisco. Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024 Bravo Mondo, a growth equity firm founded by former Viacom and AOL executive Dermot McCormack, has partnered with Brandon Pankey‘s Artist Presented Experiences (APEX) to assist with strategic and capital needs for the emerging music, content and commerce platform. Dave Brooks, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024 Eventually, the sibling rhythm section returned to the sounds of their native South and founded Blackberry Smoke with singer-guitarist Charlie Starr and guitarist Paul Jackson. Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 Bono, Mullen, guitarist The Edge, and bassist Adam Clayton founded U2 in 1976 and experienced no lineup changes until Mullen’s health issues last year. Sara Netzley, EW.com, 3 Mar. 2024 Baum, 38, founded a nonprofit early last year called Firefly Advocates. Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 3 Mar. 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 28 Mar. 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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