metal detector

American  

noun

• metal detectors
  plural

1. an electronic device for detecting the presence of metal objects, as one used as a portable sweeping unit or one emplaced in an archway at an airport terminal to detect concealed weapons, explosives, etc.

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metal detector British  

noun

1. a device that gives an audible or visual signal when its search head comes close to a metallic object embedded in food, buried in the ground, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• metal detectors
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metal detector

Cellphones were banned from the ceremony, bags were closely screened and delegates put through a metal detector by a sizable security force.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Walking through a metal detector has never been a seamless experience for me.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Two years earlier, the FAA had begun to require that all carry-on luggage be X-rayed for weapons and passengers be scanned by a metal detector.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

“I could spend all night in the water searching,” he says, sweeping his arm back and forth, an imagined metal detector in his hand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

And, of course, as these things happen to losers such as myself, when I was walking through the metal detector, an alarm sounded because I’d left my belt on.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith