detector

American  

[dih-tek-ter] / dɪˈtɛk tər /

noun

• detectors
  plural

1. a person or thing that detects.

2. a device for detecting smoke, fire, or some other hazardous condition.

3. a device for detecting the presence of metal, contraband, or other items that might be hidden or concealed.

4. Telecommunications.

   1. a device for detecting electric oscillations or waves.

   2. a device, as a crystal detector or a vacuum tube, that rectifies the alternating current in a radio receiver.

---

detector British  

/ dɪˈtɛktə /

noun

1. a person or thing that detects

2. any mechanical sensing device

3. electronics a device used in the detection of radio signals

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• detectors
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of detector

1535–45; < Late Latin dētēctor revealer, equivalent to Latin dēteg ( ere ) to uncover, reveal ( see 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?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

detector detectors

The book has become shrouded in suspicion and been withdrawn from the shortlist for France's top book prize, the Goncourt, after tests with AI detector Pangram indicated a 100 percent probability it contained computer-generated text.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Part of that security comes from the way the detector physically performs its calculations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

She and her students have come up with a millimetre wave-based ripeness detector, external that could be used by farmers – or even customers searching for perfectly ripe fruit in shops.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

No detector can reliably determine whether that promise has been kept.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

I’m jolted awake by the drone of our motion detector alarm.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Research has found that AI detectors can wrongly flag human writing as AI generated.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The detectors can also be ineffective as a new crop of AI "humanizing" tools emerges that rewrite AI-generated text to make it appear more human-like, researchers warn.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

Roman's primary science instrument, the Wide Field Instrument, contains 18 detectors.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Pilots who have regularly flown from Dubai recounted strict searches through metal detectors that have led security staff to confiscate everything from selfie sticks to hair spray to cups of coffee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

“So now that they’ve established that there was a danger,” Moss said, following his mother’s logic, “it makes it seem like the metal detectors were justified.”

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• radar

---