dénicher

Literally, to take a young bird out of its nest (from nid, nest); in everyday use, to track down or dig up something hard to find — dénicher une bonne affaire, dénicher la perle rare (to find the rare gem, i.e. the perfect person or item). A common, upbeat verb.

• Elle a déniché un appartement pas cher en plein centre-ville. — She found a cheap apartment right in the city center.
• Il adore dénicher des livres rares dans les brocantes. — He loves hunting down rare books at flea markets.
• Notre recruteur a déniché la perle rare pour ce poste. — Our recruiter found the perfect candidate for this position.

Dénicher implies effort and a bit of luck in finding something scarce or hidden — using it for something ordinary or easily available (like buying milk at the corner store) sounds oddly dramatic.

Often confused with nicher.

• expression Dénicher la perle rare — A well-established French idiom, in use since at least the 19th century, for finding an exceptionally rare person or thing — commonly used today in job recruitment and dating contexts.