Phrase guide

finders, keepers

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

Whoever finds something is allowed to keep it.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: finders, keepers; losers, weepers

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: من سبق لبق — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Cimbrian: bèar binnet haltet — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Esperanto: getrovantoj, gegardantoj — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Finnish: löytäjä saa pitää — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Finnish: löytäjä pitää — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • French: trouver, c’est garder — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • French: qui trouve garde — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • German: wer's findet, darf's behalten — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Hebrew: כָּל הַקּוֹדֵם זוֹכֶה (kol haqodém zoché) — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Hungarian: (minden) azé, aki megtalálja — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Icelandic: sá á fund sem finnur — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Irish: an té a fuair is dó is cóir (é) — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Italian: chi lo trova se lo tiene chi lo perde lo rimpiange — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Norwegian Bokmål: finner'n er vinner'n (finneren er vinneren) — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: finnaren er vinnaren — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Polish: znalezione, nie kradzione — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Portuguese: achado não é roubado — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Russian: Что упало, то пропало. (Što upalo, to propalo.) — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Swedish: den som tar den får den — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Turkish: kim bulduysa onundur — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it
  • Turkish: mal bulanındır — whoever finds something is allowed to keep it