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.
A Mexican rescuer working in La Guaira said that their equipment could detect signs of life in another building, but they had not made contact, after digging through the rubble they found nothing.
From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026
The Trionda match ball, made by Adidas for this year's World Cup, has a microchip in it that can detect when the ball has been touched.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026
First, scientists might shift attention away from promising targets or reduce support for instruments that could detect forms of life beyond current capabilities.
From Science Daily • Jun. 30, 2026
PayPal in the late 1990s allowed peer-to-peer trade on an unprecedented scale but drew swindlers, so its founders developed a digital system to detect fraud.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
Alex sniffed the air but couldn’t detect anything stink-bomby.
From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers
Vocabulary lists containing detect
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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List 9
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