return to find

idiom

: to discover (a situation that one was not aware of ) upon returning to a place
He returned to find the house empty.

Examples of return to find in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Following the tour, guests return to find a communal table set complete with wine bottles chilling. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2023 That those minute measurements will mean the bull trout won’t feel baked in their own river, that the sandhill cranes won’t return to find their nesting grounds dry, that the fires won’t start in May. Noah Davis, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2022 Some are left there on purpose, but other owners return to find their unmaintained boats waterlogged and destroyed. Lisa J. Huriash, Sun Sentinel, 24 June 2022 But hundreds could return to find damaged homes and dangerous shortages of water and electricity, UNICEF said. Melissa Mahtani, CNN, 27 May 2021 Most people returned home Sunday morning, after the lava stopped flowing, UNICEF noted, adding that there's concern that hundreds will return to find damaged homes, as well as water and electricity shortages. Glenn Garner, PEOPLE.com, 24 May 2021 Newton compared returning to the team to being part of a long-distance road trip with several other cars and being the lone car in the group to leave the highway to get gas, only to return to find everyone has driven away. Conor Roche, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Feb. 2021 New Yorkers who fled their office buildings in Manhattan seven months ago at the start of the pandemic will eventually return to find sweeping changes to the entire day to accommodate what was once a minute that required no thought or preparation: the elevator ride. Michael Wilson, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2020

Dictionary Entries Near return to find

Cite this Entry

“Return to find.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/return%20to%20find. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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