radar detector

noun

plural radar detectors

1

: a device designed to alert the operator of a vehicle when it has been targeted by a radar beam (as from a police officer's radar gun)

After fastening a radar detector to the windshield, he slaloms through traffic at illegal speeds for the seven-mile trip to Chrysler's Styling Dome …

—Alex Taylor III

He chuckled about the radar detector in his big station wagon … saying he never drove faster than 60 anyway.

—Stephan Wilkinson

2

: radar gun

The officer's radar detector recorded the vehicle speed between 55 and 60 mph, with the speed reaching 70 mph at one point on the 55 mph-limit roadway.

—Robin Baumgarn

Examples of radar detector in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cincinnati philanthropist and radar detector pioneer Michael Valentine died unexpectedly Monday at his home, according to his obituary. —Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 20 Sep. 2024

Aftermarket parts like an Alpine stereo linked with amplifiers and a subwoofer live in the trunk, and a Viper radar detector has been added to ward off any unwanted attention. —Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 26 Apr. 2023

Now, not every alert your radar detector displays is a cop. —Collin Morgan, Car and Driver, 30 Nov. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined at sense 1