metal detector

noun

plural metal detectors

: a device that detects the presence of hidden metal: such as

a

: a security device that scans individuals for dangerous objects (such as weapons)

I boarded the plane armed with several frying thermometers, which set off the metal detector …

—Jeffrey Steingarten

Once inside the theater, the crowd had to pass through an airport-style metal detector as a security precaution.

—Richard Zoglin

b

: a handheld apparatus that uses electrical induction (see induction sense 4c) to detect the presence of metallic objects (such as coins or jewelry) buried a short distance underground

A local man using a metal detector stumbled upon the site last March. He found two copper brooches, or pins, measuring four inches across.

—Time for Kids

Examples of metal detector in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These devices are more precise and subtle than old fashioned metal detectors, using specific sensitivity settings and artificial intelligence to detect hidden weapons as opposed to harmless items such as keys and phones, allowing people to enter facilities with very little delay. —Chris Boyette, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025

While scanning the ground near a small tree, the metal detector emitted a distinctive sound. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2025

Seemingly unaware of the beeping of metal detectors and the watchful eyes of guards at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, the children and their father, Holmes’s partner Billy Evans, 33, enjoy each moment together. —Danielle Bacher, People.com, 12 Feb. 2025

Sometimes, these individuals deliberately set out to unearth rare artifacts, aided by metal detectors and other tools; in other instances, the discoveries take place purely by chance. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for metal detector

• photodetector
• bisector
• collector
• connector
• corrector
• defector
• deflector
• director
• dissector
• effector
• ejector
• elector