'Discovery'

1) the act or an instance of discovering.

2) something discovered.

3) Law. compulsory disclosure, as of facts or documents.

4) (initial capital letter, italics) U.S. Aerospace. the third space shuttle to orbit and return to earth.

A discovery is something that has been discovered—found or found out about for the first time.

Discovery can also mean the process of discovering.

Discoveries involve finding or gaining knowledge about something that was previously unknown or unseen. The word is especially associated with finding new places (as in the discovery of new lands) and scientific breakthroughs (as in the discovery of a cure).

The word discovery is also used in a much more specific way in the context of law, in which it refers to the required disclosure of things like documents to the other party during a legal proceeding, as in These invoices were produced by client during discovery.