detect
Usage
What are other ways to say detect?
To detect implies becoming aware of something that had been obscure, secret, or concealed: to detect a flaw in reasoning. To ascertain is to verify facts by inquiry or analysis: to ascertain the truth about an event. To learn is to add to one's knowledge or information: to learn a language. The verb discover is used with objective clauses as a synonym of learn in order to suggest that the new information acquired is surprising to the learner: I discovered that she had been married before.
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.
See Examples For:
But urgent care addresses acute illness or injury and doesn’t usually detect the gradual changes that can become disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Peatland fires can be hard to detect and hard to put out.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
"Survival rates are far higher when cancers are caught before they spread. If you detect cancer at stage one, outcomes are dramatically better than at stage four."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Deezer, a French streamer, was the first to detect, tag and exclude AI-generated music from algorithmic recommendations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Side-scan sonar has been widely used to detect obstructions on the ocean floor that might be hazardous to shipping or to seabed installations by the gas and oil industries.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
This type of scanning detects changes in blood flow associated with brain activity, allowing researchers to observe which areas and networks are more or less active.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
As the hulking antenna swivels into action, screens inside the control room light up with the names of objects the radar system detects: stars, satellites and abandoned rocket bodies.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
If the model detects anomalies in new raw materials, for instance, it will suggest small adjustments, like tweaking the amount of oil or water going into the recipe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
When the camera detects a violation, it generates an evidence package, consisting of the date, time and location, as well as still images.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
It also detects that the terrain will be uneven, rocky.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
Authorities have not reported any casualties, but said tsunami waves between 19 and 30 centimetres have been detected.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
The detected signal closely matched detailed simulations that accounted for the remaining nuclear fuel inventory and the decay of long-lived fission products.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
The UN's International Maritime Organization reported that an oil slick was detected after that incident.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
No clouds were detected during the flight an AFP team took part in -- bringing no respite to a part of the country that last year set a new record-high temperature of 44.9C.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
But he detected genuine worry in the hare’s voice, so heroically, he turned 180 degrees again and addressed her.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Earlier Pixel Watch versions could call an ambulance after detecting signs of cardiac trouble.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
In Germany, Dobrindt in June opened a new Joint Center for Countering Hybrid Threats in Berlin, aiming to centralize work detecting and combating espionage, sabotage, disinformation and state-sponsored terrorism, among other dangers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
I’ve thought about whether AI could eventually play a role of a central banker, detecting bubbles or risk buildup that humans might miss.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Although it is located only 25 light-years away, astronomers needed 27 years after first detecting its radial wobble to identify the hidden white dwarf.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
In addition to detecting cheaters, the algorithm could also identify the best teachers in the school system.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Vocabulary lists containing detect
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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List 9
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