detection

American  

[dih-tek-shuhn] / dɪˈtɛk ʃən /

noun

detections plural

1. the act of detecting.

2. the fact of being detected.

3. discovery, as of error or crime.

   chance detection of smuggling.

4. Telecommunications.

   1. rectification of alternating signal currents in a radio receiver.

   2. Also called demodulation.  the conversion of an alternating, modulated carrier wave or current into a direct, pulsating current equivalent to the transmitted information-bearing signal.

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detection British  

/ dɪˈtɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act of discovering or the fact of being discovered

   detection of crime

2. the act or process of extracting information, esp at audio or video frequencies, from an electromagnetic wave See also demodulation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• predetection
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• detections
  plural

Etymology

Origin of detection

1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin dētēctiōn- (stem of dētēctiō ), equivalent to Latin dētēct ( us ) ( see detect) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Detection is the act of noticing or discovering something. At the airport, you might see German Shepherds trained in the detection of drug smuggling or explosives in luggage. Detection, detect, detective, detector — all are about noticing and discovering. A detective looks for clues that lead to the detection of the person who committed a crime. A metal detector is a machine created for the detection of coins people have left behind on the beach. Some teachers seem to have a third eye they use primarily for the detection of kids passing notes, or checking their cell phones during class.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

detection detections

Kratsios said Moonshot built "a sophisticated internal platform to conduct large-scale distillation against U.S. models," which allowed the company "to quickly switch between multiple methods of access to avoid detection."

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

"Then he organized telescope time, got the data, and the detection was statistically rock solid."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

The agency now deems the detection that it reported Saturday a false positive after laboratory experts reviewed the sample results.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

“Early detection and rapid response are critical to preventing the pest from spreading further,” the agency wrote in its warning about the infestation in Costco plants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

They expected her alone to keep the traditional ways, which her brothers, now among the barbarians, could fumble without detection.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

This helped eliminate extremely weak false detections as well as unusually strong instrumental artifacts that typically appear in only one antenna.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

Although the survey produced millions of potential detections, none survived all of the filtering steps.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

This includes inadequately documented air arrivals, recorded detections at UK ports, and other recorded detections within the UK.

From BBC ● May 21, 2026

"We do have surprise patrols, but still there have been a couple of incidents where poachers came within five kilometres of the island, and there have been other detections and detentions."

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

One game was a paper with lines in all detections and lots of boxs.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

Related Words

• disclosure