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Find vs. Meet — What's the Difference?

Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 3, 2024
"Find" involves discovering or locating something by searching or by chance, while "meet" refers to encountering or gathering with people either planned or coincidentally.
Find vs. Meet — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Find and Meet

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Key Differences

The verb "find" primarily denotes the act of discovering something previously hidden, unknown, or lost, often involving a deliberate search or a fortunate happenstance. On the other hand, "meet" is used to describe the action of coming into the presence of someone else, typically involving two or more people either by arrangement or by chance.
"Find" can also imply a sense of achievement or resolution, such as finding an answer or a solution to a problem. Whereas "meet" emphasizes the social aspect, focusing on the interaction between individuals, such as meeting a friend or a group.
In legal or formal contexts, "find" can refer to concluding an investigation or making a judicial decision, such as finding a verdict in a trial. Meanwhile, "meet" in formal settings may involve convening a group for a specific purpose, like meeting a committee or assembly.
In literature and expression, "find oneself" is a common phrase indicating a journey of self-discovery or personal realization. Conversely, "meet one's match" suggests encountering someone equal in ability or character, highlighting competitive or comparative encounters.
"Find" is often associated with locating information or data, like using a search function in software. On the other hand, "meet" has become synonymous with virtual or digital gatherings, especially popularized by online meeting platforms.
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Comparison Chart

Definition

To discover or locate.
To encounter or assemble with.

Usage Context

Search, discovery, realization.
Social interaction, gatherings, appointments.

Formal Usage

Judicial decisions, investigation conclusions.
Convening assemblies, official gatherings.

Expressive Phrases

"find oneself", "find the truth".
"meet one's match", "meet by chance".

Technological Relevance

Used in software for search functions.
Used for virtual gatherings and online meetings.

Compare with Definitions

Find

To arrive at a conclusion or solution.
She found the answer to the puzzle after hours of thought.

Meet

To face or confront.
He met his accuser with a steady gaze.

Find

To perceive or recognize.
You may find that things have changed here since you left.

Meet

To come into the presence of by chance or arrangement.
We will meet at the coffee shop at noon.

Find

To experience or undergo.
He found himself feeling surprisingly calm during the interview.

Meet

To encounter or experience.
She met severe challenges during her first year at college.

Find

To discover something lost or hidden.
I finally found my lost earrings under the bed.

Meet

To hold a meeting.
The board meets every Thursday.

Find

Judicially determine.
The jury found the defendant guilty.

Meet

To fulfill or satisfy.
This plan meets all our requirements.

Find

To come upon, often by accident; meet with
Found a dime on the floor.

Meet

To come into the presence of by chance or arrangement
I was surprised to meet an old friend in the park. I met a friend for coffee.

Find

To come upon or discover by searching or making an effort
Finally found the leak in the pipe.

Meet

To come into the company of
I met my colleagues for a meeting.

Find

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.

Meet

To be introduced to; make the acquaintance of
Have you met my wife?.

Find

To perceive to be, after experience or consideration
Found the gadget surprisingly useful.
Found the book entertaining.

Meet

To come together or confront in opposition
The rival teams meet next week.

Find

To experience or feel
Found comfort in her smile.

Meet

To be present at the arrival of
Met the train.

Find

To recover (something lost)
Found her keys.

Meet

To come into conjunction with; join or touch
Where the road meets the highway.

Find

To recover the use of; regain
Found my voice and replied.

Meet

To come into conformity with the views, wishes, or opinions of
The firm has done its best to meet us on that point.

Find

To succeed in reaching; arrive at
The dart found its mark.

Meet

To come to the notice of (the senses)
There is more here than meets the eye.

Find

To obtain or acquire by effort
Found the money by economizing.

Meet

To experience or undergo
He met his fate with courage. The project has met a setback.

Find

To decide on and make a declaration about
The jury deliberated and found a verdict of guilty.

Meet

To be sufficient for (a need, for example); fulfill
Meet all the conditions in the contract.

Find

To furnish; supply
We can find a bed for you somewhere in the house.

Meet

To deal or contend with effectively
We can meet each problem as it arises.

Find

To bring (oneself) to an awareness of what one truly wishes to be and do in life.

Meet

To pay; settle
Enough money to meet expenses.

Find

To perceive (oneself) to be in a specific place or condition
Found herself at home that night.
Found himself drawn to the stranger.

Meet

To come together
Didn't recognize him when we met. Where should we meet for lunch?.

Find

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

Meet

To come into conjunction; be joined
The two pipes meet in the corner.

Find

The act of finding.

Meet

To come together as opponents; contend
The team met with its rival.

Find

Something that is found, especially an unexpectedly valuable discovery
The Rosetta stone was a providential archaeological find.

Meet

To become introduced
Where did the two of you meet?.

Find

To locate

Meet

To assemble
Protesters met in the square.

Find

(transitive) To encounter or discover by accident; to happen upon.
I found this shell on the beach

Meet

To occur together, especially in one person or entity
Suspense and intrigue meet in this new movie.

Find

(transitive) To encounter or discover something being searched for; to locate.
I found my car keys. They were under the couch.

Meet

A meeting or contest, especially an athletic competition.

Find

(ditransitive) Locate on behalf of another
I found you a new place to live

Meet

Fitting; proper
"It seems not meet, nor wholesome to my place" (Shakespeare).

Find

(ditransitive) To discover by study or experiment direct to an object or end.
Water is found to be a compound substance.

Meet

To make contact (with) while in proximity.

Find

(transitive) To gain, as the object of desire or effort.
To find leisure; to find means

Meet

To come face to face with by accident; to encounter.
Fancy meeting you here! Guess who I met at the supermarket today?

Find

(transitive) To attain to; to arrive at; to acquire.
Looks like he found a new vehicle for himself!

Meet

To come face to face with someone by arrangement.
Let's meet at the station at 9 o'clock.

Find

(transitive) To point out.
He kept finding faults with my work.

Meet

To get acquainted with someone.
I'm pleased to meet you! I'd like you to meet a colleague of mine.
I met my husband through a mutual friend at a party. It wasn't love at first sight; in fact, we couldn't stand each other at first!

Find

(ditransitive) To decide that, to discover that, to form the opinion that.
I find your argument unsatisfactory.

Meet

(Of groups) To come together.

Find

(transitive) To arrive at, as a conclusion; to determine as true; to establish.
To find a verdict; to find a true bill (of indictment) against an accused person

Meet

To gather for a formal or social discussion; to hold a meeting.
I met with them several times. The government ministers met today to start the negotiations.

Find

To supply; to furnish.
To find food for workmen

Meet

To come together in conflict.

Find

To provide for
He finds his nephew in money.

Meet

(sports) To play a match.
England and Holland will meet in the final.

Find

To determine or judge.
The jury finds for the defendant.

Meet

To make physical or perceptual contact.

Find

To successfully pass to or shoot the ball into.
Peters finds Jinkins, who is running down the left wing.

Meet

To converge and finally touch or intersect.
The two streets meet at a crossroad half a mile away.

Find

To discover game.

Meet

To touch or hit something while moving.
The right wing of the car met the column in the garage, leaving a dent.

Find

Anything that is found (usually valuable), as objects on an archeological site or a person with talent.

Meet

To adjoin, be physically touching.
The carpet meets the wall at this side of the room. The forest meets the sea along this part of the coast.

Find

The act of finding.

Meet

(transitive) To respond to (an argument etc.) with something equally convincing; to refute.
He met every objection to the trip with another reason I should go.

Find

To meet with, or light upon, accidentally; to gain the first sight or knowledge of, as of something new, or unknown; hence, to fall in with, as a person.
Searching the window for a flint, I foundThis paper, thus sealed up.
In woods and forests thou art found.

Meet

To satisfy; to comply with.
This proposal meets my requirements. The company agrees to meet the cost of any repairs.

Find

To learn by experience or trial; to perceive; to experience; to discover by the intellect or the feelings; to detect; to feel.
The torrid zone is now found habitable.

Meet

(intransitive) To balance or come out correct.

Find

To come upon by seeking; as, to find something lost.
Seek, and ye shall find.
Every mountain now hath found a tongue.

Meet

To perceive; to come to a knowledge of; to have personal acquaintance with; to experience; to suffer.
The eye met a horrid sight. He met his fate.

Find

To provide for; to supply; to furnish; as, to find food for workemen; he finds his nephew in money.
Wages £14 and all found.
Nothing a day and find yourself.

Meet

To be mixed with, to be combined with aspects of.

Find

To arrive at, as a conclusion; to determine as true; to establish; as, to find a verdict; to find a true bill (of indictment) against an accused person.
To find his title with some shows of truth.

Meet

(sports) A sports competition, especially for track and field or swimming.
Track meet
Swim meet

Find

To determine an issue of fact, and to declare such a determination to a court; as, the jury find for the plaintiff.

Meet

(hunting) A gathering of riders, horses and hounds for foxhunting; a field meet for hunting.

Find

Anything found; a discovery of anything valuable; especially, a deposit, discovered by archæologists, of objects of prehistoric or unknown origin.

Meet

(rail transport) A meeting of two trains in opposite directions on a single track, when one is put into a siding to let the other cross.

Find

A productive insight

Meet

(informal) A meeting.
OK, let's arrange a meet with Tyler and ask him.

Find

The act of discovering something

Meet

(algebra) The greatest lower bound, an operation between pairs of elements in a lattice, denoted by the symbol ∧.

Find

Come upon, as if by accident; meet with;
We find this idea in Plato
I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here
She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day

Meet

(archaic) Suitable; right; proper.

Find

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

Meet

To join, or come in contact with; esp., to come in contact with by approach from an opposite direction; to come upon or against, front to front, as distinguished from contact by following and overtaking.

Find

Come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost;
Did you find your glasses?
I cannot find my gloves!

Meet

To come in collision with; to confront in conflict; to encounter hostilely; as, they met the enemy and defeated them; the ship met opposing winds and currents.

Find

After a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study;
Find the product of two numbers
The physicist who found the elusive particle won the Nobel Prize

Meet

To come into the presence of without contact; to come close to; to intercept; to come within the perception, influence, or recognition of; as, to meet a train at a junction; to meet carriages or persons in the street; to meet friends at a party; sweet sounds met the ear.
His daughter came out to meet him.

Find

Come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds;
I feel that he doesn't like me
I find him to be obnoxious
I found the movie rather entertaining

Meet

To perceive; to come to a knowledge of; to have personal acquaintance with; to experience; to suffer; as, the eye met a horrid sight; he met his fate.
Of vice or virtue, whether blest or curst,Which meets contempt, or which compassion first.

Find

Perceive or be contemporaneous with;
We found Republicans winning the offices
You'll see a lot of cheating in this school
I want to see results
The 1960 saw the rebellion of the younger generation against established traditions
I want to see results

Meet

To come up to; to be even with; to equal; to match; to satisfy; to ansver; as, to meet one's expectations; the supply meets the demand.

Find

Get something or somebody for a specific purpose;
I found this gadget that will serve as a bottle opener
I got hold of these tools to fix our plumbing
The chairman got hold of a secretary on Friday night to type the urgent letter

Meet

To come together by mutual approach; esp., to come in contact, or into proximity, by approach from opposite directions; to join; to come face to face; to come in close relationship; as, we met in the street; two lines meet so as to form an angle.
O, when meet nowSuch pairs in love and mutual honor joined !

Find

Make a discovery, make a new finding;
Roentgen discovered X-rays
Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle

Meet

To come together with hostile purpose; to have an encounter or conflict.
Weapons more violent, when next we meet,May serve to better us and worse our foes.

Find

Make a discovery;
She found that he had lied to her
The story is false, so far as I can discover

Meet

To assemble together; to congregate; as, Congress meets on the first Monday of December.
They . . . appointed a day to meet together.

Find

Obtain through effort or management;
She found the time and energy to take care of her aging parents
We found the money to send our sons to college

Meet

To come together by mutual concessions; hence, to agree; to harmonize; to unite.
We met with many things worthy of observation.
Prepare to meet with more than brutal furyFrom the fierce prince.

Find

Decide on and make a declaration about;
Find someone guilty

Meet

An assembling together; esp., the assembling of huntsmen for the hunt; also, the persons who so assemble, and the place of meeting.

Find

Receive a specified treatment (abstract);
These aspects of civilization do not find expression or receive an interpretation
His movie received a good review
I got nothing but trouble for my good intentions

Meet

Suitable; fit; proper; appropriate; qualified; convenient.
It was meet that we should make merry.

Find

Perceive oneself to be in a certain condition or place;
I found myself in a difficult situation
When he woke up, he found himself in a hospital room

Meet

Meetly.

Find

Get or find back; recover the use of;
She regained control of herself
She found her voice and replied quickly

Meet

A meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held

Find

Succeed in reaching; arrive at;
The arrrow found its mark

Meet

Come together;
I'll probably see you at the meeting
How nice to see you again!

Find

Accept and make use of one's personality, abilities, and situation;
My son went to Berkeley to find himself

Meet

Get together socially or for a specific purpose

Meet

Be adjacent or come together;
The lines converge at this point

Meet

Fill or meet a want or need

Meet

Satisfy a condition or restriction;
Does this paper meet the requirements for the degree?

Meet

Satisfy or fulfill;
Meet a need
This job doesn't match my dreams

Meet

Get to know; get acquainted with;
I met this really handsome guy at a bar last night!
We met in Singapore

Meet

Collect in one place;
We assembled in the church basement
Let's gather in the dining room

Meet

Meet by design; be present at the arrival of;
Can you meet me at the train station?

Meet

Contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle;
Princeton plays Yale this weekend
Charlie likes to play Mary

Meet

Experience as a reaction;
My proposal met with much opposition

Meet

Be in direct physical contact with; make contact;
The two buildings touch
Their hands touched
The wire must not contact the metal cover
The surfaces contact at this point

Meet

Being precisely fitting and right;
It is only meet that she should be seated first

Common Curiosities

How is "find" used in a legal context?

In legal terms, "find" can refer to a decision made by a jury or judge, such as finding a verdict.

Can "meet" be used to refer to encountering non-humans?

Yes, "meet" can describe encountering animals, obstacles, or situations, not just people.

What does it mean to "find" something?

To find something means to locate or discover it, often after searching.

What does the phrase "find oneself" signify?

It refers to a process of self-discovery and coming to understand one’s true personality or desires.

How does the use of "meet" in technology differ from traditional meanings?

In technology, "meet" often refers to participating in digital or virtual meetings.

Is it correct to use "find" when referring to people?

Typically, "find" refers to discovering objects, but it can be used for people in a metaphorical sense, like finding a mentor.

Is "meet" always planned?

No, one can meet someone either by prior arrangement or coincidentally.

What is an example of "find" in a technological context?

Using a search function on a computer or smartphone to locate information.

How does "meet" relate to business contexts?

In business, "meet" often involves appointments, interviews, or gatherings for discussions or negotiations.

What does "meet one's match" mean?

It means to encounter someone who is equal in skill, ability, or qualities.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Fiza Rafique
Fiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Tayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.

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