detector

noun

de·​tec·​tor di-ˈtek-tər 

: one that detects: such as

a

: a device for detecting the presence of electromagnetic waves or of radioactivity

b

: a rectifier of high-frequency current used especially for extracting the intelligence from a radio signal

Synonyms of detector

• sensor

Examples of detector in a Sentence

using metal detectors to improve safety at airports

a motion detector to thwart burglaries

Recent Examples on the Web

The measurements came from the STAR (Solenoidal Tracker) detector at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), the same facility that recently completed its final collisions after 25 years of probing quarks and gluons. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 16 Aug. 2026

It's also installed more hot bearing detectors and decreased the distance between them, so cars are checked more often. — Lauren Linder, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

Its Gemini chatbot and a dedicated SynthID detector portal can identify images generated by the company’s own AI tools. — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 13 Aug. 2026

Yet a 2023 Stanford study said that Pangram was biased against non-native English speakers, who might have more limited vocabularies, and many AI researchers contend that such detectors are unreliable. — Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1541, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing detector

• lie detector
• metal detector
• radar detector
• smoke detector

Rhymes for detector

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

Kids Definition

detector

noun

de·​tec·​tor di-ˈtek-tər 

1

: one that detects or warns

a smoke detector

2

: a device in a radio receiver for changing the high-frequency current of radio waves into current that can vibrate a loudspeaker to reproduce the original sound

Medical Definition

detector

noun

de·​tec·​tor di-ˈtek-tər 

: one that detects

especially : a device for detecting the presence of electromagnetic waves or of radioactivity