lost and found

noun

plural lost and founds
: a repository for items that have been lost by their owners
The lost and found in my high school had been a locked closet adjacent to the front office for which a secretary had the key.Joyce Carol Oates

Examples of lost and found in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Investigators later found the phone in the ship’s lost and found. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026 The release said that out of precaution for both staff and shelter animals, the shelter has paused the following services until the building is fully remediated: Adoption services, lost and found pet services, volunteer work, animal field services and all walk-in services. Harry Harris, Mercury News, 9 June 2026 Medical aid cases, for example, increased by 38 over that span, and seven cases of people lost and found were reported. Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2026 The lost and found at the Board of Transportation — a predecessor to the MTA — was then receiving about 16,000 items per year, 2,500 of those being umbrellas. Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 28 Apr. 2026 Recorded on a 4-track tape, these songs bristle with the energy of love lost and found. David Harris, SPIN, 24 Mar. 2026 Mortgage Matchup Center lost and found Contact a Mortgage Matchup Center staff member for assistance. Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 26 Feb. 2026 The tale of love lost and found stars soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Rolando Villazón. Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2025 The annual event, hosted by Goodwill of Orange County, gives shoppers the chance to snag items left unclaimed in the theme park’s lost and found. Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1777, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lost and found was in 1777

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lost and found.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lost%20and%20found. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.

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