detect

[ dih-tekt ]

/ dɪˈtɛkt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR detect ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to discover or catch (a person) in the performance of some act: to detect someone cheating.

to discover the existence of: to detect the odor of gas.

to find out the true character or activity of: to detect a spy.

Telecommunications.

to rectify alternating signal currents in a radio receiver.
to demodulate.

Words nearby detect

detailer, detailing, detain, detainee, detainer, detect, detection, detective, detector, detectorist, detent

Origin of detect

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin dētēctus (past participle of dētegere), equivalent to dē- de- + teg(ere) to cover + -tus past participle suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM detect

de·tect·a·ble, de·tect·i·ble, adjectivede·tect·a·bil·i·ty, de·tect·i·bil·i·ty, nounpre·de·tect, verb (used with object)un·de·tect·a·ble, adjective

un·de·tect·a·bly, adverbun·de·tect·ed, adjectiveun·de·tect·i·ble, adjective

synonym study for detect

2. See learn.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for detect

No one who lives in an American city requires a flashlight to detect the presence of immigrants or the challenges they face daily.
The 2014 Novel of the Year|Nathaniel Rich|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Testing methods can now detect HIV within ten days of infection.
The Outrageous Celibacy Requirement for Gay Blood Donors|Jay Michaelson|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The company is already brainstorming what it can detect next.
The Gluten Detecting Device You’ll Want to Own|DailyBurn|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is only one approved, working test that can detect whether or not Ebola is present in the blood.
This New Ebola Test Is As Easy As a Pregnancy Test, So Why Aren’t We Using It?|Abby Haglage|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Without the beeps and whirs of a cellphone, you can use your ears to detect crickets, mice, or other vermin in your home.
Aubrey Plaza’s Great Disconnect|Aubrey Plaza|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We are forming the scientific eye which can detect differences ever after at a glance.
Froebel's Gifts|Kate Douglas Wiggin
It was not however until I reached the more respectable business quarter of the town that I was able to detect much.
Under the Meteor Flag|Harry Collingwood
He concluded, quite correctly, that the organization had failed to detect himself in the person of the nervous cobbler.
Fire-Tongue|Sax Rohmer
You detect no movement in the solid mass of heads and shoulders.
What Is Man? And Other Stories|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Could Lucretia ever forgive the injury, and could she fail to detect the hand that inflicted it?
Lucretia, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for detect

detect

/ (dɪˈtɛkt) /

verb (tr)

to perceive or noticeto detect a note of sarcasm

to discover the existence or presence of (esp something likely to elude observation)to detect alcohol in the blood

to extract information from (an electromagnetic wave)

obsolete to reveal or expose (a crime, criminal, etc)

Derived forms of detect

detectable or detectible, adjectivedetecter, noun

Word Origin for detect

C15: from Latin dētectus uncovered, from dētegere to uncover, from de- + tegere to cover

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

detect

verb (used with object)

Words related to detect

Words nearby detect

Origin of detect

OTHER WORDS FROM detect

synonym study for detect

Examples from the Web for detect

British Dictionary definitions for detect

verb (tr)

Derived forms of detect

Word Origin for detect