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:
Researchers there used biological accelerator spectrometry, or BioAMS, to detect radioactive markers at extremely small concentrations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Others carry the earth to a nearby seasonal river, where mostly women crouch in the murky water, washing and sifting mud and sand hoping to detect a tiny trace of the element.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
One option is Hawaii’s small but promising ocean-tech industry, which includes firms that repair cargo ships, make sensors to detect floods, breed commercial shellfish or make livestock supplements from seaweed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Examining individual cells allowed the researchers to detect sex specific genetic differences that earlier studies using bulk blood samples could not see.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Now in the big Greek’s expression Singer thought that he could detect something sly and joking.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
It will also institute a “proactive lockout” that suspends access when the system detects suspicious behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
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
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
He detects patterns: one track is waffled, another has fine lines, and another is shaped like the pointed toe of a boot.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
The researchers built clocks using several types of information, including structural measurements from medical imaging, proteins associated with specific organs, and molecules detected in the blood.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
Among the older participants, those with detectable levels of R inulinivorans had 29% greater handgrip strength than those in whom the bacterium could not be detected.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
The fire did prompt two shelter-in-place orders when the fire reached an ammonia line, but Los Angeles Fire Department officials and Lineage say no ammonia was detected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Once a drone was detected it was necessary to know "whether it was equipped with a camera or an explosive", she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
They had concentrated all their efforts on getting inside without being detected: They had not given a moment’s thought to what they would do if they were forced to separate.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Vietnamese authorities have historically proven effective at detecting and stifling dissent before it boils over into action.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
"We are significantly strengthening our ability to respond to hostile drones," German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said at the opening of the centre, which will focus on detecting and identifying unmanned aerial vehicles.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 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
The investigators also identified additional partner proteins involved in folding and transporting proinsulin, as well as detecting and managing misfolded versions.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Even research men suffer from the handicap of inadequate methods of detecting the beginnings of injury.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Vocabulary lists containing detect
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