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detect

[dih-tekt]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used with object)

to discover or catch (a person) in the performance of some act: to detect someone cheating.

to discover the existence of: to detect the odor of gas.

to find out the true character or activity of: to detect a spy.

Telecommunications.

to rectify alternating signal currents in a radio receiver.

to demodulate.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin dētēctus (past participle of dētegere), equivalent to dē- de- + teg(ere) to cover + -tus past participle suffix

Related forms

de·tect·a·ble, de·tect·i·ble, adjective

de·tect·a·bil·i·ty, de·tect·i·bil·i·ty, noun

pre·de·tect, verb (used with object)

un·de·tect·a·ble, adjective

un·de·tect·a·b·ly, adverb

EXPAND

un·de·tect·ed, adjective

un·de·tect·i·ble, adjective

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
2. See learn.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To detect

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Detect is one of our favorite verbs.

So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:

to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Example Sentences

It wants someone to develop a sniffing machine that can detect individuals by their body odor.

Many images are of gels, which are ways to detect proteins or other molecules in a sample, and often they are blurry.

Jewel beetles detect fires using receptors called sensilla.

EXPAND

It wants someone to develop a sniffing machine that can detect individuals by their body odor.

Many images are of gels, which are ways to detect proteins or other molecules in a sample, and often they are blurry.

Jewel beetles detect fires using receptors called sensilla.

Experts have trained unwanted dogs into supersniffers that can detect drugs or bombs.

Sensors can detect damage that may be invisible to the naked eye.

Actually, scientists are finding that the ability to detect sarcasm really is useful.

Accelerometers detect movement and translate it into digital signals.

Geiger counters, which detect radiation, come in a wide variety of shapes and prices.

In many laboratories, this type of inappropriate behavior is difficult to prevent and detect.

In the infra-red, hyperspectral sensors can detect vapours of chemical and biological weapons in the air.

Some trainers and researchers think they detect subtle changes in human behavior or scent before an episode occurs.

Inability to detect autism until a child is two or three years old is a terrific disadvantage.

The problem for physicists is that neutrinos are impossible to see and difficult to detect.

Magnetometers now in use at airports cannot detect plastic weapons or substances used in explosives.

When ulcers are suspected, the doctor will order tests to detect bleeding.

Of course, they are right to detect a mild note of schadenfreude.

Fortunately, with the experiment at an end, he ran a batch of scans using tools designed to detect malware.

Scientists may have found a better way to detect concealed nuclear weapons-grade materials at border crossings around the world.

In fact, my homemade instrument can readily detect shifts a mere thousandth of the ambient field.

But the drunk students lost both their preference for symmetry and their ability to detect it.

But it is also neglected simply because its location, deep within the body, makes it exceptionally hard to detect and treat.

It's better if election workers detect software glitches or malfeasance at individual precincts, he said.

It is designed to detect the low-frequency radio pulses emitted by lightning strikes.

But each small device can do only one simple job: detect a certain chemical.

Quantum-cascade laser may detect impending eruptions.

It turns out that dogs can be trained to detect the scat of a particular species and ignore everything else.

Students should be able to detect if a problem has a solution.

The hardest submarines to detect are the hunter killers.

Many fish species have what is called a lateral line system that helps them detect the movement of prey in dark water.

Thermal imaging uses a heat-sensitive camera to detect increased blood flow around the eyes.

Over time, they might even detect a disease correlation.

Our students, however, rightly detect something more foul.

Even some of the new fuel cell submarines are harder to detect these days.

Such techniques generally make smaller planets difficult to detect.

Pulsars provide an alternative way to detect gravitational waves.

Delicate structures require delicate preservation to detect.

He and his colleagues are also looking at how to make a cement-based sensing skin that can detect excessive strain in bridges.

But the shelter's scanner failed to detect the animal's chip.

If true, it might be possible to detect traces of this distant time.

Finding them is hard work, but there are ways to detect their presence.

Security experts reckon the latest technology can detect hostile intentions before something bad happens.

The space agency has sought to reduce debris created at liftoff and to detect any damage before reentry.

Depending on the species, marine mammals click and whistle at frequencies far higher than humans can detect.

Scientists are still trying to find ways to detect how this major event forever changed life on earth.

Large ones, which can detect weak signals, have a narrow focus.

Scientists rely on indirect methods to detect the planets.

The myth derives from the belief that birds can detect human scent.

These sensors will detect when a space is taken and relay that information to a central database.

Schaddelee would not say how many, or what types of explosives the dogs can detect.

Because worms are independent programs, they are somewhat easier to detect than viruses.

The trick is to find a way to make this flow rate change when the chemical that the sensor has been designed to detect is present.

May noted they have huge eyes, which they use to detect their insect prey.

Many laboratory tests rely on laser light to detect molecules.

At the same time, technology can detect cheats more easily than before.

Doppler radar can detect strong rotation within a storm, information useful in predicting the likelihood of a tornado.

Sensory information from taste cells is critical for helping us to detect and respond appropriately to needed nutrients.

To detect artificial neutrinos using existing telescopes means screening out the natural neutrino background.

Current methods aren't sensitive enough to detect these wobbles, even when they stem from major tremors.

The climate is a noisy thing, with ups and downs of its own that can make trends hard to detect.

The digital forensic techniques described on the following pages could be used to detect where changes were made.

His group are now trying to find the biological markers that such a blood test would need to detect.

Yet exactly how the creatures, which lack specialized eyes, detect such changes has eluded explanation.

Unfortunately, it is by definition impossible to detect.

Serology is a blood test to detect the presence of antibodies against a microorganism.

Museums will soon be armed with a new tool to detect your fake paintings: a sharp-eyed computer program.

Loopers are somewhat difficult to detect since they feed mainly at night and hide in older vegetation during the day.

Physicists are now proposing methods to detect such collisions, if they.

Medically, the best ways to detect clogged arteries involve.

She is now training them to detect prostate cancer and skin cancer as well.

He hopes the radar will detect the buried foundations of the vanished buildings.

Sentinel plants will turn green when they detect chemical or biological agents that.

It is as thin as a piece of paper and can detect the movement.

We train every faculty member to detect academic dishonesty.

Arkansas deploys facilities built to detect chemical and biological weapons to keep tabs on ever-evolving synthetic pot products.

Scientists had figured out years ago that the bats used pits on their noses to detect the heat given off by blood vessels.

The taste receptors that can detect the deliciousness of sugar are present in your mouth and your gut.

Scientists have determined that the human finger is so sensitive it can detect a surface bump just.

While this was going on, the women were having their brains imaged to detect areas of activity.

Sensors on the seafloor detect changes in water pressure and send the data to buoys anchored alongside.

Therefore, police try to park close to the road and detect vehicles far downfield.

The test objectives were to evaluate the vendor's claims concerning the device's ability to detect explosives.

It uses antibodies to detect proteins from the surface of the parasite.

The receiver should be able to detect an eavesdropper and take appropriate countermeasures.

These tiny pits found along a shark's head are used to detect faint electrical signals emitted.

The trick for locating the position of the hidden sun is to detect polarization, the orientation of light waves along their path.

It will detect the proteins even if the parasite has died and been degraded.

Course-management systems are making it possible to detect students in academic trouble before it gets too deep.

Most can detect only between light and dark, while others have well-developed vision.

Scientists can detect changes that are linked with motherhood in the structure of the brain.

It uses cameras and microphones to detect your skeletal structure.

The test is done to detect cancer and inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract.

Females might use the quality of those sounds to detect differences between a male's right and left wings.

Our auditory systems can detect a range of frequencies.

The animals use their keen sense of smell to detect termite mounds and anthills and tear them open with strong claws.

The result: a simple, surefire way to detect impurities in pharmaceutical drugs and medical supplies.

And if the cancer ever recurs, she said, it will be far easier to detect with no implants in the way.

In particular, they are investigating smells so faint that people say they cannot detect them.

All of the robots have microphones to detect voices or other sounds of possible human presence within the ruins.

The coalition also charged that the tests fail to detect racial prejudice among white applicants.

Early-warning antennae should twitch when they detect the word smart, signifying a return to old ways but with lessons learnt:.

To detect a quark-gluon plasma, physicists examine the spray of particles emitted perpendicularly to the beam axis.

Anteaters use their keen sense of smell to detect termite mounds and anthills and tear them open with their strong claws.

In defense scenarios, a battery of cameras could be used to detect suspicious activities around ships and military bases.

The library group also wants to see if it can detect broader trends among research libraries.

Near-infrared optical sensors on two satellites detect changes in the tops of.

These cosmic explosions proved to be rather different from the man-made explosions that the satellites were designed to detect.

The biggest announcement of the year was that scientists have finally found a way to detect the colors of some dinosaurs.

There may be many other planets that current instruments cannot yet detect since they orbit too far from their stars.

The first is easy to detect and disdain, if difficult to undo.

Some reformists detect signs of division among their opponents.

As a result, sound strikes both ears simultaneously, making it impossible to detect the sound's direction of origin.

Arkansas deploys facilities built to detect chemical and.

State-of-the-art microwaves can detect the weight of popcorn and then apply the right amount of heat to get the perfect pop.

It would not be hard to write programs to detect the badly scanned works.

Now a new tyre could detect when a car is about to skid and switch on safety systems in time to prevent.

Theoretically, to an organism that can detect field intensity and dip angles, the field offers navigational information.

Genetic testing can detect cancer-predisposing mutations, but a positive result gives only an estimated risk.

Being so bright and nearby would also help researchers detect the tiny wobble a small terrestrial planet would impart.

It does not take brain scans to detect the superficial grasp many students are getting from reading eTexts, etc.

To detect amyloid plaques in dead tissue requires the use of special stains.

One type of radar image can detect whether substances in the air are biological.

Computers then compare the actual tool movements with ideal procedures to detect errors or confirm correct.

The traditional process isn't designed to detect fraud.

The device can detect some of the wolves because they have radio collars.

NR-1 uses long-range sonar that can detect shipwrecks at much greater distances than sonars previously used by oceanographers.

These funds are being used to detect and treat infested areas of.

Darpa's latest project is after a new way to detect dangerous radioactivity in the first place.

Movement along a fault is often so gradual that only sensitive scientific instruments can detect it.

The blood tests dogs receive do not detect all the performance enhancing drugs they may be given.

The world is full of gadgets that detect things humans cannot.

Such machines detect changes in the blood flow in various parts of the body-in this case, the brain.

Using special head organs, the predators can detect even the slightest.

If you have used one of those cheap boxes which detect electric wires behind.

Yet, inexplicably, they do not contain the information about individual loans that is needed to detect default risk.

The bat uses these reflected signals for orientation and as part of its sonar system to detect food.

Sensitive hairs and nerves on the back of the green grappler moth caterpillar detect the slightest touch of prey.

Scientists have discovered there is a bird that can detect cuckoo chicks in the nest.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

detect (dɪˈtɛkt)

—vb
1.	to perceive or notice: to detect a note of sarcasm
2.	to discover the existence or presence of (esp something likely to elude observation): to detect alcohol in the blood
3.	to extract information from (an electromagnetic wave)
4.	obsolete to reveal or expose (a crime, criminal, etc)

[C15: from Latin dētectus uncovered, from dētegere to uncover, from de- + tegere to cover]

de'tectable

—*adj*

de'tectible

—*adj*

de'tecter

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

detect

mid-15c., from L. detectus, pp. of detegere "uncover, disclose," from de- "un-, off" + tegere "to cover" (see stegosaurus).

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"Jealousy is never satisfied with anything short of an omniscience that would detect the subtlest fold of the heart."

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