A finding is a discovery you make or a conclusion you reach after investigating, studying, or searching for something. When a scientist completes an experiment, her findings are what she learned: maybe the plants grew faster with more sunlight, or the ice melted more slowly when wrapped in foil. When a detective examines clues at a crime scene, his findings might reveal how the robbery happened.

Findings come from careful observation and thought, not wild guesses. If you conduct a survey asking classmates about their favorite lunch foods and discover that pizza wins by a landslide, that's a finding. If a historian researches old letters and documents and concludes that a famous explorer visited a particular island, that's a finding too.

The word suggests you looked for answers systematically rather than stumbling onto them by accident. A doctor might share her findings after examining a patient. A committee investigating why the school's garden failed might present its findings at a meeting: not enough water, too much shade, and rabbits eating the seedlings.

Notice that findings are usually shared with others. When you make a discovery through genuine investigation and tell people what you learned, you're reporting your findings.