detect
verb (used with object)
to discover or catch (a person) in the performance of some act.
had detected
-
past perfectof detect.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
Officials told the BBC's US partner CBS News that the US had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the plane.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Hugging Face on July 16 announced that it had detected and contained the intrusion and reported it to law enforcement—five days before OpenAI announced it had connected the activity to its own internal testing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
In a February 2025 letter to state regulators, Edison said it had detected a single fault on a line more than five miles away from Altadena about 6:11 p.m. on the night the fire ignited.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
After carefully filtering the signal, the researchers confirmed they had detected an electromagnetic pulse measuring just 0.83 zeptojoules.
From Science Daily ● May 21, 2026
And I had detected that Finny’s was a den of lonely, selfish ambition.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
