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find

  (fīnd) pronunciation

v., found (found), find·ing, finds.

v.tr.
  1. To come upon, often by accident; meet with.
  2. To come upon or discover by searching or making an effort: found the leak in the pipe.
  3. To discover or ascertain through observation, experience, or study: found a solution; find the product of two numbers; found that it didn't really matter.
    1. To perceive to be, after experience or consideration: found the gadget surprisingly useful; found the book entertaining.
    2. To experience or feel: found comfort in her smile.
  5. To recover (something lost): found her keys.
  6. To recover the use of; regain: found my voice and replied.
  7. To succeed in reaching; arrive at: The dart found its mark.
  8. To obtain or acquire by effort: found the money by economizing.
  9. To decide on and make a declaration about: The jury deliberated and found a verdict of guilty. All the jurors found him guilty.
  10. To furnish; supply.
    1. To bring (oneself) to an awareness of what one truly wishes to be and do in life.
    2. To perceive (oneself) to be in a specific place or condition: found herself at home that night; found himself drawn to the stranger.
v.intr.

To come to a legal decision or verdict: The jury found for the defendant.

n.
  1. The act of finding.
  2. Something that is found, especially an unexpectedly valuable discovery: The Rosetta stone was a providential archaeological find.
phrasal verb:

find out

  1. To ascertain (something), as through examination or inquiry: I found out the phone number by looking it up. If you're not sure, find out.
  2. To detect the true nature or character of; expose: Liars risk being found out.
  3. To detect and apprehend; catch: Most embezzlers are found out in the end.

[Middle English finden, from Old English findan.]

findable find'a·ble adj.
 
 
Thesaurus: find
also find out

verb

  1. To find or meet by chance: bump into, chance on (or upon), come across, come on (or upon), happen on (or upon), light on (or upon), run across, run into, stumble on (or upon), tumble on. Archaic alight on (or upon). Idioms: meet up with. See meet.
  2. To look for and discover: locate, pinpoint, spot. See get/lose.
  3. To obtain knowledge or awareness of something not known before, as through observation or study. ascertain, determine, discover, hear, learn. See teach/learn.

noun

    Something that has been discovered: ascertainment, discovery, finding, strike. See teach/learn.

 
Antonyms: find

n

Definition: discovery
Antonyms: loss

v

Definition: achieve, win
Antonyms: fail, fall short, forfeit, lose

v

Definition: catch sight of, lay hands on
Antonyms: lose, miss, pass by

 
Celtic Mythology: find

find-

Variant spelling for the Old Irish finn, finn- [fair, white]. Names may incorporate either find- or finn- as a prefix, while others may employ the Modern Irish fionn-.

 
Word Tutor: find
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: The act of discovering something.

pronunciation It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. — Agnes Repplier, (1855-1950), American author and essayist.

Tutor's tip: Their attempt to find (to discover; recover; locate) a finned (having an external membranous process) creature in the lake resulted in being fined (to be ordered to pay a penalty for) for trespassing.

 
Wikipedia: find


The find program is a directory search utility, mostly found on Unix-like platforms. It searches through one or more directory trees of a filesystem, locating files based on some user-specified criteria. By default, find returns all files below the current working directory. Further, find allows the user to specify an action to be taken on each matched file. Thus, it is an extremely powerful program for applying actions to many files. It also supports regex matching.

Ironically, the find program is no longer preferred for searching for files by name in the entire filesystem. Instead, the locate programs, which use a database of indexed files, is more efficient at that.

Examples

From current directory

find . -name 'my*'

This searches in the current directory (represented by a period) and below it, for files and directories with names starting with my. The quotes avoid the shell expansion - without them the shell would replace my* with the list of files whose names begin with my in the current directory. In newer versions of the program, the directory may be omitted, and it will imply the current directory.

Files only

find . -name "my*" -type f

This limits the results of the above search to only regular files, therefore excluding directories, special files, pipes, symbolic links, etc. my* is enclosed in quotes as otherwise the shell would replace it with the list of files in the current directory starting with my...

Commands

The previous examples created listings of results because, by default, find executes the '-print' action. (Note that early versions of the find command had no default action at all; therefore the resulting list of files would be discarded, to the bewilderment of users.)

find . -name "my*" -type f -ls

This prints an extended file information.

Search all directories

find / -name "myfile" -type f -print

This searches every file on the computer for a file with the name myfile. It is generally not a good idea to look for data files this way. This can take a considerable amount of time, so it is best to specify the directory more precisely.

Specify a directory

find /home/weedly -name "myfile" -type f -print

This searches for files named myfile in the /home/weedly directory, the home directory for userid weedly. You should always specify the directory to the deepest level you can remember.

Search several directories

find local /tmp -name mydir -type d -print

This searches for directories named mydir in the local subdirectory of the current working directory and the /tmp directory.

Ignore errors

If you're doing this as a user other than root, you might want to ignore permission denied (and any other) errors. Since errors are printed to stderr, they can be suppressed by redirecting the output to /dev/null. The following example shows how to do this in the bash shell:

find / -name "myfile" -type f -print 2>/dev/null

Find any one of differently named files

find . \( -name "*jsp" -or -name "*java" \) -type f -ls

The -ls option prints extended information, and the example finds any file whose name ends with either 'jsp' or 'java'. Note that the parentheses are required. Also note that the operator "or" can be abbreviated as "o". The "and" operator is assumed where no operator is given. In many shells the parentheses must be escaped with a backslash, "\(" and "\)", to prevent them from being interpreted as special shell characters. The -ls option and the -or operator are not available on all versions of find.

Execute an action

find /var/ftp/mp3 -name "*.mp3" -type f -exec chmod 744 {} \;

This command changes the permissions of all files with a name ending in .mp3 in the directory /var/ftp/mp3. The action is carried out by specifying the option -exec chmod 744 {} \; in the command. For every file whose name ends in .mp3, the command chmod 744 {} is executed replacing {} with the name of the file. The semicolon (backslashed to avoid the shell interpreting it as a command separator) indicates the end of the command. Permission 744, usually shown as rwxr--r--, gives the file owner full permission to read, write, and execute the file, while other users have read-only access. In some shells, the {} must be quoted.

Search for a string

This command will search for a string in all files from the /tmp directory and below:

find /tmp -exec grep "search string" '{}' /dev/null \; -print

The /dev/null argument is used to show the name of the file before the text that is found. Without it, only the text found is printed. An equivalent mechanism is to use the "-H" or "--with-filename" option to grep:

find /tmp -exec grep -H "search string" '{}' \; -print

GNU grep can be used on its own to perform this task:

grep -R "search string" /tmp

Example of search for "LOG" in jsmith's home directory

find ~jsmith -exec grep "LOG" '{}' /dev/null \; -print
/home/jsmith/scripts/errpt.sh:cp $LOG $FIXEDLOGNAME
/home/jsmith/scripts/errpt.sh:cat $LOG
/home/jsmith/scripts/title:USER=$LOGNAME

Example of search for the string "ERROR" in all xml files in the current directory and all sub-directories

find . -name "*.xml" -exec grep "ERROR" '{}' \; -print

The double quotes (" ") surrounding the search string and single quotes (' ') surrounding the braces are optional in this example, but needed to allow spaces and other special characters in the string.

Search for all files owned by a user

find . -user <userid>

See also

  • searchmonkey, an alternative search tool using the Gtk front-end

External links

Unix command line programs and builtins (more)
File and file system management cat · chattr · cd · chmod · chown · chgrp · cksum · cmp · cp · du · df · file · fsck · fuser · ln · ls · lsof · mkdir · mount · mv · pwd · rm · rmdir · split · touch
Process management at · chroot · crontab · exit · kill · killall · nice · pgrep · pidof · pkill · ps · sleep · time · top · wait · watch
User management/environment env · finger · id · logname · mesg · passwd · su · sudo · uname · uptime · w · wall · who · whoami · write
Text processing awk · comm · cut · ed · ex · fmt · head · iconv · join · less · more · paste · sed · sort · tac · tail · tr · uniq · wc · xargs
Shell programming basename · echo · expr · false · printf · test · true · unset
Printing: lp · Communications: inetd · netstat · ping · rlogin · nc · traceroute · Searching: find · grep · strings · Miscellaneous: banner · bc · cal · dd · man · size · yes

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
Misspellings: find

Common misspelling(s) of find

  • fidn

 
Translations: Translations for: Find

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - finde, forekomme, ramme, skaffe, blive klar over
v. intr. - afsige kendelse
n. - fund

idioms:

  • find against    afsige kendelse imod
  • find common ground    finde noget at enes om
  • find fault with    finde fejl hos
  • find favour    vinde indpas
  • find for    afsige kendelse for
  • find in favour of    afsige kendelse til fordel for
  • find one's bearings    orientere sig
  • find one's feet    lære at klare sig selv
  • find one's way    finde vej
  • find oneself    finde sig selv
  • find out    finde ud af

Nederlands (Dutch)
vinden, bevinden, ondervinden, verschaffen, van bed/ voedsel voorzien (als werkvoorwaarde), rechtmatig bepalen, vondst, ondervinding, bevinding

Français (French)
v. tr. - trouver, retrouver, constater, éprouver, toucher (un but), (Jur) conclure que, (Comput) rechercher
v. intr. - se retrouver, se découvrir, (Jur) se prononcer en faveur de/ contre qn (un verdict)
n. - découverte, trouvaille, perle

idioms:

  • find against    (Jur) se prononcer contre
  • find common ground    trouver un lieu commun
  • find fault    trouver à redire de
  • find favour    retrouver la faveur de
  • find for    (Jur) prononcer/rendre un verdict en faveur de qn
  • find in favour of    se prononcer en faveur
  • find one's bearings    recevoir/trouver ses points de repère
  • find one's feet    s'adapter
  • find one's way    trouver son chemin
  • find oneself    se découvrir, se trouver
  • find out    découvrir
  • find someone out    découvrir (qn)

Deutsch (German)
v. - finden, feststellen, herausfinden, befinden
n. - Fund, Entdeckung

idioms:

  • find against    für schuldig erklären
  • find common ground    sich einigen
  • find fault    etwas auszusetzen haben
  • find favour    jmdm. gefallen
  • find for    beliebt sein
  • find in favour of    beliebt sein
  • find one's bearings    sich orientieren
  • find one's feet    sich hineinfinden
  • find one's way    hinfinden
  • find oneself    sich befinden, sich selbst versorgen
  • find out    herausfinden
  • find someone out    jmdm. dahinter kommen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - βρίσκω, ανακαλύπτω, διαπιστώνω, γνωμοδοτώ, κηρύσσω
n. - ανακάλυψη, εύρημα

idioms:

  • find against    (νομ.) αποφαίνομαι κατά
  • find common ground    βρίσκω κοινό έδαφος για συνεννόηση
  • find fault with    βρίσκω ψεγάδι σε, ψέγω, γκρινιάζω
  • find favour    κερδίζω εύνοια
  • find for    (νομ.) αποφαίνομαι υπέρ
  • find in favour of    (νομ.) αποφαίνομαι υπέρ
  • find one's bearings    προσανατολίζομαι
  • find one's feet    ορθοποδώ, στέκομαι στα πόδια μου, ξαναβρίσκω τον εαυτό μου
  • find one's way    βρίσκω το δρόμο μου
  • find oneself    (ξανα)βρίσκω τον εαυτό μου, βρίσκομαι (σε)
  • find out    ανακαλύπτω, πληροφορούμαι, μαθαίνω

Italiano (Italian)
trovare, constatare, giudicare, incontrare, ritenere, reperto, scoperta

idioms:

  • find against    decidere contro
  • find fault with    criticare
  • find favour    trovare favore presso
  • find for/in favour of    decidere in favore di
  • find one's feet    reggersi in pedi, cavarsela
  • find one's way    trovare la strada
  • find out    scoprire

Português (Portuguese)
v. - encontrar, considerar
n. - descoberta (f)

idioms:

  • find against    culpar (Jur.)
  • find common ground    ponto (m) pacífico (em comum)
  • find fault with    criticar
  • find favour    aprovar
  • find for/in favour of    ficar a favor de (Jur.)
  • find one's feet    acomodar-se ou acostumar-se a uma nova situação
  • find one's way    encontrar seu próprio caminho
  • find oneself    ver-se
  • find out    descobrir

Русский (Russian)
находить, отыскивать, открывать, обнаружить, застать, чувствовать, достигать, попадать, считать, признать, находка, открытие

idioms:

  • find against    признать виновным
  • find common ground    найти общее, сойтись
  • find fault with    придираться, ворчать
  • find favour    нравиться
  • find for/in favour of    признать невиновным, решать в пользу
  • find one's feet    освоиться, стать на ноги
  • find one's way    пробраться, попасть
  • find oneself    найтись, найти себя
  • find out    выяснить, раскрыть, разоблачить

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - encontrar, dar con, hallar, topar, comprobar, constatar, declarar, pronunciar, parecer, estimar, opinar, pensar
v. intr. - pronunciar sentencia o fallo
n. - hallazgo, descubrimiento, encuentro

idioms:

  • find against    decidir en contra, fallar en contra, hallar culpable
  • find common ground    tener algo en común, pensar de la misma manera sobre algo
  • find fault    desaprobar, censurar, criticar, culpar, poner reparos
  • find favour    caer en gracia
  • find for    decidir a favor de, fallar a favor de
  • find in favour of    decidir a favor de, fallar a favor de
  • find one's bearings    orientarse
  • find one's feet    empezar a caminar, afirmarse, desarrollar su independencia
  • find one's way    encontrar el camino
  • find oneself    encontrarse, descubrir uno sus aptitudes
  • find out    descubrir, enterarse de
  • find someone out    descubrir, enterarse de

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - finna, påträffa, söka, nå, anse, döma (jur.), skaffa
n. - fynd, uppdrivning av räv

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
发现, 找到, 感到, 裁决

idioms:

  • find against    做出对...不利的裁决
  • find common ground    寻找共同点
  • find fault with    挑剔, 抱怨, 批评
  • find favour    受青睐
  • find for    做出对...不利的裁决
  • find in favour of    判决对...有利, 做出对...有利的判决
  • find one's bearings    寻找或辨明自己所处的位置
  • find one's feet    开始能走路, 能独立行动
  • find one's way    发现途径
  • find oneself    发觉自己的处境, 自我感觉
  • find out    找出, 查明, 发现

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 發現, 找到, 感到
v. intr. - 裁決
n. - 發現

idioms:

  • find against    做出對...不利的裁決
  • find common ground    尋找共同點
  • find fault with    挑剔, 抱怨, 批評
  • find favour    受青睞
  • find for    做出對...不利的裁決
  • find in favour of    判決對...有利, 做出對...有利的判決
  • find one's bearings    尋找或辨明自己所處的位置
  • find one's feet    開始能走路, 能獨立行動
  • find one's way    發現途徑
  • find oneself    發覺自己的處境, 自我感覺
  • find out    找出, 查明, 發現

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 발견하다, 찾아 내다
v. intr. - 평결을 내리다
n. - 발견

idioms:

  • find against    평결하다, 판정하다
  • find fault with    실수나 결점을 찾다
  • find for    ~을 제공하다
  • find oneself    자신의 위치를 알다, 적성 등을 깨닫다
  • find out    발견하다, 생각해 내다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 発見する, 見いだす, 見いだせる, 認める, 知る, 悟る, 分かる, ふと見付ける, 求めて得る, 届く, 供給する
n. - 発見, 獲物の発見, 見付けもの, 発見物, 掘り出し物

idioms:

  • find against    不利な判決を下す
  • find common ground    共通点を見付ける
  • find fault with    不平を言う, あらを探す
  • find favour    愛顧をえる
  • find for/in favour of    有利に, 味方して
  • find its level    能力相応に落ち着く
  • find one's feet    立てるようになる, 環境に慣れる
  • find one's level    適所に落ち着く
  • find one's voice    声がまた出せるようになる
  • find one's way    道を求めて行く, たどり着く
  • find oneself    衣食を自弁する, ここちがする
  • find out    見い出す, 発見する, 知る, 正体を見破る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يجد , يكتشف (الاسم) اكتشاف , اللقيه ( شيء نفيس)‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮מצא, גילה, החליט, ציד, סיפק, חש, הבחין, נעשה מודע ל-‬
v. intr. - ‮פסק‬
n. - ‮מציאה, גילוי, דבר שנתגלה‬

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Best of the Web: find

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American Sign Language
commtechlab.msu.edu
 
 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2008 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Celtic Mythology. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Copyright © James MacKillop 1998, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
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eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Find".  Read more
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