detected; detecting; detects
1
: to discover the true character of
detecting drug smugglers
2
: to discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
detect alcohol in the blood
Do I detect a note of sarcasm in your voice?
3
: to work as a detective
Synonyms
Examples of detect in a Sentence
The test is used to detect the presence of alcohol in the blood.
This type of cancer is difficult to detect in its early stages.
Recent Examples on the Web
Four feedforward microphones detect and cancel unwanted noise in real time with adaptive levels of ANC.
—
Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
The growing use of scanning technologies in medicine overall has been one of the most important changes over the last couple of decades: Tumors are being detected during scans for non-cancerous conditions.
—Linda Carroll, TIME, 5 Sep. 2024
Security researchers have detected a vulnerability in YubiKey two-factor authentication tokens that enables attackers to clone the device according to a new security advisory.
—Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 4 Sep. 2024
These hypothetical particles are even lighter than the tiniest WIMP and could possibly be detected via oscillations in their waveforms.
—Saima S. Iqbal, Scientific American, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for detect 
Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
The growing use of scanning technologies in medicine overall has been one of the most important changes over the last couple of decades: Tumors are being detected during scans for non-cancerous conditions.
—Linda Carroll, TIME, 5 Sep. 2024
Security researchers have detected a vulnerability in YubiKey two-factor authentication tokens that enables attackers to clone the device according to a new security advisory.
—Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 4 Sep. 2024
These hypothetical particles are even lighter than the tiniest WIMP and could possibly be detected via oscillations in their waveforms.
—Saima S. Iqbal, Scientific American, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for detect
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'detect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near detect
Cite this Entry
“Detect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detect. Accessed 17 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
detect
verb
de·tect
di-ˈtekt 
: to discover the nature, existence, presence, or fact of
detect the approach of an airplane
detection
noun
-ˈtek-shən
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