detect

verb

de·​tect di-ˈtekt 

dē-

detected; detecting; detects

transitive verb

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

: demodulate

intransitive verb

: to work as a detective

detectability

di-ˌtek-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

dē-

noun

detectable

di-ˈtek-tə-bəl 

dē-

adjective

Synonyms of detect

• find
• learn
• locate
• discover
• get

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

The event was detected close to San Jacinto, two days ago. —Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 15 Nov. 2025

The patent suggests solving this by tracking relative speed, comparing a vehicle’s pace to that of nearby traffic to detect dangers that absolute speed monitoring would completely overlook. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 15 Nov. 2025

Current rehearsal techniques simply aren’t supple enough to detect just how varied the range of human voices – or even the range of one human’s voice – can be. —New Atlas, 15 Nov. 2025

Scientists have also detected RNA in the tissue of Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old mummy found frozen in the Alps. —Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin detectus, past participle of detegere to uncover, detect, from de- + tegere to cover — more at thatch

First Known Use

1574, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for detect

• affect
• aspect
• bedecked
• bisect
• collect
• connect
• correct
• deflect
• direct
• dissect
• effect
• eject

Kids Definition

detect

verb

de·​tect di-ˈtekt 

: to discover the nature, existence, presence, or fact of

detect the approach of an airplane

detectable

-ˈtek-tə-bəl 

adjective

detection

-ˈtek-shən

noun