eureka
1 of 3interjection
eu·re·ka yu̇-ˈrē-kə 
—used to express triumph on a discovery
eureka
2 of 3adjective
: marked by usually sudden triumphant discovery
a eureka moment
eureka
3 of 3Greek verb
eu·re·ka yu̇-ˈrē-kä
: I have found (it) —motto of California
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2022 Standing in the living room of a tiny Tempe apartment is kind of a weird place to have a eureka moment. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 24 Nov. 2021 In 2014, siblings Yasameen and Sheilla Sajady had a eureka moment at the family lunch table. Nicole Hvidsten, Star Tribune, 7 May 2021 The eureka moment for negotiators working to keep Sherwin-Williams’ headquarters in Cleveland came nearly two months ago, Mayor Frank Jackson disclosed this week. Robert Higgs, cleveland, 21 Feb. 2020 That eureka moment of mine with 5G in Providence came while using Verizon's network. Aaron Pressman, Fortune, 24 Jan. 2020 Joan Smalls’s decorating eureka moment came at a fashionable dinner party. Marc Karimzadeh, ELLE Decor, 8 Aug. 2019 That juxtaposition sparked Eheart’s eureka moment: build communities where foster families and older adults live together, helping each other. Abigail Jones, Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2014 Driving between his properties in Zambia back in 2010, Green Safaris’ founder Vincent Kouwenhoven’s eureka moment came when switching off his Land Rover to watch a pack of lions. Lee Middleton, Quartz Africa, 14 June 2019 See More
Adjective
Physicians describe not a eureka moment but a creeping realization, a longitudinal hunch. Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2022 Standing in the living room of a tiny Tempe apartment is kind of a weird place to have a eureka moment. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 24 Nov. 2021 In 2014, siblings Yasameen and Sheilla Sajady had a eureka moment at the family lunch table. Nicole Hvidsten, Star Tribune, 7 May 2021 The eureka moment for negotiators working to keep Sherwin-Williams’ headquarters in Cleveland came nearly two months ago, Mayor Frank Jackson disclosed this week. Robert Higgs, cleveland, 21 Feb. 2020 That eureka moment of mine with 5G in Providence came while using Verizon's network. Aaron Pressman, Fortune, 24 Jan. 2020 Joan Smalls’s decorating eureka moment came at a fashionable dinner party. Marc Karimzadeh, ELLE Decor, 8 Aug. 2019 That juxtaposition sparked Eheart’s eureka moment: build communities where foster families and older adults live together, helping each other. Abigail Jones, Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2014 Driving between his properties in Zambia back in 2010, Green Safaris’ founder Vincent Kouwenhoven’s eureka moment came when switching off his Land Rover to watch a pack of lions. Lee Middleton, Quartz Africa, 14 June 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Interjection
Greek heurēka I have found, from heuriskein to find; from the exclamation attributed to Archimedes on discovering a method for determining the purity of gold — more at heuristic
First Known Use
Interjection
1603, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
1948, in the meaning defined above
Geographical Definition
Eureka
geographical name
Eu·re·ka yu̇-ˈrē-kə
city and port on Humboldt Bay in northwestern California population 27,191