detect
/dɪˈtɛkt/
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: detects · detecting
Sense 1
Meaning · English
To discover or find by careful search, examination, or probing.
Verb
Examples
Cantharidin, although readily decomposed by chemical agents, is so permanent in the body that it has been detected in the corpse of a cat eighty-four days after death.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).
Sense 2
Meaning · English
To work or solve cases as a detective.
VerbRegister: informal
Examples
Parker would in all likelihood have done so; he was paid to detect and to do nothing else, and neither his natural gifts nor his education (at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School) prompted him to stray into side-tracks at the beck of an ill-regulated imagination.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “detect” mean?
To discover or find by careful search, examination, or probing.
Is “detect” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.