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:
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
"It can be very difficult to accurately detect AI-generated content."
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
"We're able to take them off, concentrate them and then detect them and see what's present within them."
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
And if you sniff the lobby of downtown Los Angeles’ Ritz-Carlton, you may detect “bright effervescent notes ... layered with soft florals,” a custom fragrance known as Champagne & Shimmer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Not only could it detect radio signals sent from many thousands of miles away, but it used the most up-to-date equipment available.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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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
RBC also detects that during major drawdowns, confidence and sentiment gauges move sharply with readings like the National Federation of Independent Business and the American Association of Individual Investors dropping sharply.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 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
The limbic system is the part of the brain that detects things in the environment that we should pay attention to and sends an emotional signal about what to do in response: Avoid!
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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"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
Investigators in Seoul said the attacks, initially detected last week, hit at least seven South Korean financial firms and showed traces of a cybersecurity tool called Artex AI that was developed in China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
This particular strain has not been detected in the county since 1979.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
As for Acaster, he's admitted the other comedians are his “biggest threat” when it comes to being detected as a traitor.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
The Probes, Harry knew, detected spells of concealment and hidden magical objects.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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But beyond detecting Fresh Mushroom Aroma, the possibilities are vast for this technology, according to Ben Montpetit, professor and chair, Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Halzen first presented his vision for detecting neutrinos at the South Pole in 1988.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
This is the most delicate issue, because it involves detecting a threat that may show no obvious warning signs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Earlier studies had searched for similar signals without detecting them.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
There was always a point at which a detective began to question his suspects, and she figured talking to Cook was a kind of detecting.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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Vocabulary lists containing detect
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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List 9
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