510
discover (someone or something) to be, by chance or expe-
rience: [+obj+adv/prep] *When we arrived, we found him (=he
was) in bed.* | *I woke up to find myself (=that I was) in the
hospital.* | *'I think she's mean.' 'I didn't find her so.'* | [+obj+adj]
*I find it difficult to believe you.* | [+(that)] *I didn't find her an
easy woman to work with.* (=in my experience it was not easy
to work with her) | [+(that)] *I find I have half an hour to spare,
so we can have our talk now.* | *We're finding that fewer and
fewer people are buying this brand.* **3** (of a thing) to reach;
arrive at: *The bullet found its mark.* | *The water will soon find
its own level.* **4** to obtain by effort: *How ever do you find the
time to make cakes?* | *He's going to Mexico, and I'm going too if
I can find the money.* | *At last she found the courage to tell
him.* | *Once he'd found his tongue* (=gained the courage to
speak) *he told them what he thought of them.* **5** [not in progres-
sive forms] to know or see that (something) exists or happens:
[+obj+adv/prep] *This type of snake is only found* (=lives, exists)
*in South America.* | [+obj+v-ing] *You won't find many students
learning* (=not many students learn) *Latin now.* **6** [+obj+adj;
not in progressive forms] law to decide (someone) to be: *The jury
found the prisoner guilty/not guilty.* → compare FIND
AGAINST, FIND FOR **7** *BrE* to provide: *Do the men find their
own tools, or is their employer responsible?* **8** find it in one's
heart/in oneself to (usually in questions or negatives) to be ready or
willing: *Can't you find it in your heart to forgive her?* **9** find
oneself to discover one's own wishes, ability, and character:
*Her year of voluntary work abroad helped her to find herself
as an individual.* **10** find one's feet to become used to new
or strange surroundings; settle in: *He's only been at the school
two weeks, and he hasn't really found his feet yet.* —**er** *n*: *The
finder of the lost articles will receive a reward.*
**find against** sbdy. *phr v* [**T** no pass.] law to give judgment
against: *The jury found against the plaintiff.*
**find for** sbdy. *phr v* [**T** no pass.] law to give judgment in
favour of: *The judge found for the plaintiff.*
**find out** *phr v* **1** [**I**; **T** (=find sthg. out)] to learn or discover (a
fact that was hidden or not known): *I won't tell you – you'll
have to find out for yourself.* | *I've been trying to find out her
telephone number.* | [+(that)] *I found out quite by chance that
she intended to sell it.* | [+wh-] *Nobody could find out how to
operate it.* **2** [**T**[find sbdy. out]] to discover in a dishonest act:
*After years of embezzling from his employers, he was finally
found out.*
**find²** *n* something good or valuable that is found: *This little
restaurant is quite a find/is a real find.*
**find-er** /'faɪndə/ *n* **1** someone who finds something that
was lost or stolen: *The finder usually receives a
reward.* **2** finders keepers (losers weepers) spoken used to
say that if someone finds something, they have the right to
keep it
**fin de siè-cle** /ˌfæn də 'sjɛklə/ *adj* *Fr* (typical) of the end of
the 19th century, especially when thought of as a time of
DECADENT ideas in literature, art etc
**find-ing** /'faɪndɪŋ/ also **findings** *pl.* — *n* **1** law a decision
made by a judge or JURY **2** something learnt as the result of
an official inquiry: *The findings of the committee on child
care are due to be published soon.*
**fine¹** /faɪn/ *adj* **1** beautiful and of high quality; better than
most of its kind: *a fine house/musician/wine/view* | *It's a fine
example of its kind.* | *I've never seen a finer animal.* | *This
painting is really very fine.* | *He's an expert at getting the
children ready for school; he's got it down to a fine
art.* **2** a) very thin: *fine hair/thread/silk* | *a pencil with a
fine point* | *This print's too fine* (=small) *for me to read.* | (fig.)
*There's often a very fine line between truth and falsehood.* b)
in very small grains or bits: *fine sugar/dust* → opposite
COARSE; see FINE PRINT and see also THIN (USAGE) **3** (of
weather) bright and sunny; not wet **4** [**F** no comp.] (of a
person or situation) healthy and comfortable: *'How's your
wife?' 'She's fine, thank you.'* | *'How's the new job?' 'It's fine,
thank you.'* | *This apartment's fine for two people, but not
more.* **5** [**A**] delicate and difficult to understand or notice: *I
missed some of the finer points in the argument.* | *That's a
very fine distinction; I would have said a donkey and an ass
were the same animal.* | *Not to put too fine a point on it* (=to
express it plainly) *I think he's mad!* **6** (of statements) too
grand and perhaps not true: *We've had enough of your fine
speeches* | *That's all very fine, but what about me and the
children?* **7** [**A**] infml terrible: *That's a fine thing to say!* | *Your
shoes will be in a fine state if you walk in the mud.* → see also
FINELY —**ness** *n* [**U**]
**fine²** *adv* **1** so as to be very thin or in very small bits: *Cut up
the vegetables very fine.* | *'The cloth was woven of fine-spun
silk.* **2** infml very well: *It suits me fine.* | *The machine works
fine if you oil it.* | *'I'll leave the key on the table, OK?' 'Fine.'*
(=yes, that is all right) **3** cut/run it fine infml to allow only
just enough time and no more: *You're cutting it a bit fine if
you want to catch the 5.30 train!* → compare FINELY
**fine³** *v* [**I**;**T**[DOWN]] **1** to make or become pure and clear: *Before
the beer can be bottled it has to be fined.* **2** to improve by
making or becoming thinner, less wasteful, or more exact:
*Now that the original plans have been fined down, they are
much more practical.*
**fine⁴** *n* an amount of money paid as a punishment. Fines are
usually given to people for committing (COMMIT) small
crimes, e.g. for parking in the wrong place, for driving too
fast, or for dropping LITTER: *You'll have to pay a £50 fine/an
on-the-spot fine.* (=a fine paid at once)
**fine⁵** *v* [**T**[for]] to take money from as a punishment: *They
fined him heavily (for breaking the speed limit).* | [+obj](i)+obj](d)]
*He was fined £200.*
**,fine 'art** *n* [**U**] paintings, drawings, music, SCULPTURE etc, of
high quality: *a lover of fine art*
**,fine 'arts** *n* [**the**] activities such as painting, music, and
SCULPTURE that are chiefly concerned with producing beau-
tiful rather than useful things: *a student of the fine arts*
**Fin-e Gael** /ˌfɪnə 'geɪl/ one of the two main political parties
in the Republic of Ireland, established in 1933. It is consid-
ered to be more CONSERVATIVE than the other main party,
FIANNA FÁIL.
**fine-ly** /'faɪnli/ *adv* **1** so as to be very thin or in very small
bits: *finely cut vegetables* **2** closely and delicately: *These
instruments are very finely set/tuned.* **3** fml very well, espe-
cially in a moral sense: *I think he behaved finely.* → compare
FINE²
**,fine 'print** *n* [(the) **U**] SMALL PRINT
**fi-ne-ry** /'faɪnəri/ *n* [**U**] beautiful or showy clothes, jewellery
etc, especially for a special occasion: *the guests in their
wedding finery*
**fines herbes** /ˌfiːn 'eabl-'eərb/ *n* [**U**] *Fr* a mixture of dried
and cut plants such as PARSLEY, CHIVES, and TARRAGON,
which is added to food during cooking to improve its taste
**fi-nesse** /fɪ'nes/ *n* [**U**] **1** delicate skill and self-confidence:
*Paul played the sonata/handled the meeting with great
finesse.* **2** (in card games) the holding back of one's highest
card because one guesses that one will be able to win with a
lower card
**,fine-'tooth comb** also **,fine-'toothed comb** *AmE* — *n*
with a fine-tooth comb very carefully and in great detail:
*They went through his statement with a fine-tooth comb, to see
if they could find any inconsistencies.*
**,fine-'tune** *v* [**T**] to make slight changes to (something) so as
to make it work as well as possible —**fine-tuning** *n* [**U**]
**Fin-gal's Cave** /ˌfɪŋgəlz 'keɪv/ a CAVE (=a hole in the side
of a cliff) on the island of Staffa off the west coast of
Scotland. It was the subject of a famous piece of music by
Felix MENDELSSOHN.
**fin-ger¹** /'fɪŋgə/ *n* **1** any of the five movable parts with
joints at the end of each hand: *He ran his fingers through his
hair/drummed his fingers on the desk in frustration.* | *She let
the sand fall through* (=between) *her fingers.* → compare
TOE **2** any of four such parts, not including the thumb: *a
beckoning finger* → see also INDEX FINGER, LITTLE FINGER,
MIDDLE FINGER, RING FINGER **3** the part of a GLOVE that
covers a finger **4** be/feel all fingers and thumbs *BrE* infml to
use one's hands awkwardly or be unable to control them; be
CLUMSY: *I'm sorry I dropped your cup – I'm all fingers and
thumbs today.* **5** give someone the finger *AmE* infml to move
the middle finger upwards in the direction of someone with
whom one is angry, in an extremely offensive way **6** (have)
a finger in every pie infml (to have) a part or interest in
everything that is going on **7** have/with one's fingers in
the till infml to steal/stealing money from the place where one