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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metal detector

Entry is through a metal detector, and bags must be put in the cloakroom or in lockers, and there are more security guards.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

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

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

Manguillier found his niche in the island economy in 1993 when a French friend brought him a Fisher metal detector, which operates both on land and in the water.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

I ran to my laboratory and got my metal detector out of its box in the closet.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

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