detect
Usage
What are other ways to say detect?
To detect implies becoming aware of something that had been obscure, secret, or concealed: to detect a flaw in reasoning. To ascertain is to verify facts by inquiry or analysis: to ascertain the truth about an event. To learn is to add to one's knowledge or information: to learn a language. The verb discover is used with objective clauses as a synonym of learn in order to suggest that the new information acquired is surprising to the learner: I discovered that she had been married before.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Burn-in is like a stress test of a component to detect problems.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
The U.S. company said it would strengthen a tie-up with the country’s cybersecurity office and help the government and businesses detect cyberattacks early or preempt them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
"Then we realized the galaxies might actually be there, but difficult to detect because their very recent star formation was suppressed."
From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026
This radar allows it to detect and track potential targets at long ranges to provide an early warning of possible threats during combat operations.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
“Oh,” I said, furtively trying to sniff myself to see if I could detect sweetness or bitterness or berries.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
