detector
Americannoun
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a person or thing that detects.
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a device for detecting smoke, fire, or some other hazardous condition.
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a device for detecting the presence of metal, contraband, or other items that might be hidden or concealed.
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Telecommunications.
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a device for detecting electric oscillations or waves.
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a device, as a crystal detector or a vacuum tube, that rectifies the alternating current in a radio receiver.
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noun
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a person or thing that detects
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any mechanical sensing device
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electronics a device used in the detection of radio signals
Etymology
Origin of detector
1535–45; < Late Latin dētēctor revealer, equivalent to Latin dēteg ( ere ) to uncover, reveal ( detect ) + -tor -tor
Explanation
A detector is a machine that responds to particular substances in a consistent way. Everyone who flies on an airplane must pass through a metal detector, which beeps when it senses metal. A "lie detector" works by measuring pulse and eye movements as a person responds to a series of questions. A radioactivity detector looks for high levels of radioactivity in nuclear power plants. Since the invention of detectors, the idea of more fantastical detectors has filled the human imagination. A love detector: why not?
Vocabulary lists containing detector
Seedfolks
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"Dogs at Work"
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The Mark of Athena
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
ZeroGPT, another popular detector, flags 96.4% of the Gettysburg Address as AI-written.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Cornell University told AFP it "does not have any established relations with AI detector companies."
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
In his letter to Weber, Curtis promised to take a lie detector test after each election.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
With his invasive species detector duties done, it is time for a new role for Woody.
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026
She wasn't a large woman, but there was something commanding about her presence—I couldn't help but watch her as she moved carefully through the doorway toward the metal detector.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
