discover in WordNet English dictionary

1. find unexpectedly
   "the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb"; "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake"
   fall upon  strike  come upon  light upon  chance upon  come across  chance on  happen upon  attain  discover 
   
2. make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
   "The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won't reveal how old she is"; "bring out the truth"; "he broke the news to her"; "unwrap the evidence in the murder case"
   unwrap  disclose  let on  bring out  reveal  discover  expose  divulge  break  give away  let out 
   
3. identify as in botany or biology, for example
   identify  discover  key  key out  distinguish  describe  name 
   
4. discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
   "She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water"; "We found traces of lead in the paint"
   detect  observe  find  discover  notice 
   
5. make a discovery
   "She found that he had lied to her"; "The story is false, so far as I can discover"
   discover  find 
   
6. get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
   "I learned that she has two grown-up children"; "I see that you have been promoted"
   learn  hear  get word  get wind  pick up  find out  get a line  discover  see 
   
7. make a discovery, make a new finding
   "Roentgen discovered X-rays"; "Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle"
   discover  find 
   
8. see for the first time; make a discovery
   "Who discovered the North Pole?"
   discover