early-warning system
Americannoun
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Military. a network of radar installations designed to detect enemy aircraft or missiles in time for the effective deployment of defense systems.
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any series of steps established to spot potential problems.
noun
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a network of radar and communications units intended to detect at the earliest possible moment an attack by enemy aircraft or missiles
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anything that gives advance notice of something
Etymology
Origin of early-warning system
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
The families will call for an early-warning system that would allow parents and whistleblowers to report concerns in early-years settings to an independent external body.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026
The researchers are now actively working on identifying compounds and microbes in the water column that serve as an early-warning system for coral reefs under stress.
From Science Daily • Feb. 13, 2024
What’s more, an over-the-horizon early-warning system the Soviet Union built in Ukraine in 1976 had been shuttered by the end of the Cold War.
From Science Magazine • Nov. 17, 2023
It can act as an early-warning system to predict impending incidents of brutality.
From Scientific American • Nov. 1, 2023
You crackled when you neared his desk—his early-warning system.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
