Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for detect on Thesaurus.com 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. Show More
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
Related forms de·tect·a·ble , de·tect·i·ble , adjective de·tect·a·bil·i·ty , de·tect·i·bil·i·ty , noun pre·de·tect , verb (used with object) un·de·tect·a·ble , adjective un·de·tect·a·bly , adverb un·de·tect·ed , adjective un·de·tect·i·ble , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for detect disclose ,
reveal ,
notice ,
recognize ,
expose ,
spot ,
distinguish ,
see ,
observe ,
identify ,
catch ,
uncover ,
find ,
encounter ,
unmask ,
note ,
espy ,
descry ,
ascertain ,
meet Examples from the Web for detect Contemporary Examples of detect No one who lives in an American city requires a flashlight to detect the presence of immigrants or the challenges they face daily.
Testing methods can now detect HIV within ten days of infection.
The company is already brainstorming what it can detect next.
There is only one approved, working test that can detect whether or not Ebola is present in the blood.
Without the beeps and whirs of a cellphone, you can use your ears to detect crickets, mice, or other vermin in your home.
Historical Examples of detect In more than one case, we seem to detect an actual portrait.
How often, my dear, have you and I endeavoured to detect and censure this partial spirit in others?
He could detect a design upon it when nobody else had any perception of the fact.
The eye could not detect one creature in the group free from the smear of blood.
The spy had kept his eyes open, but had been able to detect no sign.
British Dictionary definitions for detect to perceive or notice to 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) Show More
Derived Forms detectable or detectible , adjective detecter , 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
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Word Origin and History for detect v. early 15c., from Latin detectus , past participle of detegere "uncover, expose," figuratively "discover, reveal, disclose," from de- "un-, off" (see de- ) + tegere "to cover" (see stegosaurus ). Related: Detected ; detecting .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
