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:
Quorum sensing allows bacteria to detect how many neighboring cells are present and coordinate group behaviors.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
As that center shifts, scientists can detect minute changes in the distances between orbiting satellites and tracking stations on the ground.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
Halzen led the development of IceCube at the South Pole, which uses a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice fitted with light sensors to detect particles called neutrinos.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
But Russian officials downplayed the reports this week, saying that postmortem tests did not detect the disease in her body and that no special measures were in place.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
“You can barely detect the definition in my cheekbones.”
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
The 82-year-old is the brains behind the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a telescope embedded in a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice that detects neutrinos -- particles with almost no mass that seldom interact with other matter.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Belgian physicist Prof Francis Halzen has won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work on an observatory that detects particles from space, shedding light on the distant universe.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Pilgrim has raised $25 million and has developed a 50-pound device that detects biological threats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
“There is no evidence that any multi-cancer detection testing prevents cancer, consistently detects it at an earlier stage, or reduces cancer-associated mortality,” two researchers wrote in the Lancet this week.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Her nose is always slightly elevated, as if she detects a foul smell.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
"No health disorders associated with infectious pathology were detected," it said, adding that "the results of almost 5,000 laboratory tests did not reveal any dangerous pathogenic microorganisms".
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Although Mexican authorities detected irregularities in some accounts managed by the firms, they found no evidence establishing links to criminal organizations, Sheinbaum said last week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
He added that the 250 cases a day detected by the ABI last year were "unfortunately likely to be just the tip of the iceberg".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
This particular strain has not been detected in the county since 1979.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
A fourth apartment at first looked ideal, but Bobby detected something “wrong with the air.”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Halzen first presented his vision for detecting neutrinos at the South Pole in 1988.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The deal will include the U.S. rights to FAPI-74, a tracer that is in late-stage clinical trials for detecting cancers that GE HealthCare thinks can be a big seller if it is cleared by regulators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Rodriguez has been a vocal advocate for placing the cameras across Texas and has commended their use in Laredo and elsewhere for allowing a new approach to detecting crime.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
The expert also points to a potential problem when it comes to detecting the use of AI in novels.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
For ten seconds Chapter Eleven studied my documents, detecting no forgery, as the clouds burst overhead, and I made him get me one more piece of cake.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Vocabulary lists containing detect
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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