Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Latin
Origin: detectus, past participle of detegere 'to uncover'

detect

 verb
     
de‧tect W3 [transitive]
to notice or discover something, especially something that is not easy to see, hear etc:
Many forms of cancer can be cured if detected early.
detect a change/difference
Dan detected a change in her mood.
detect a note of sarcasm/irony/excitement etc
Do I detect a note of sarcasm in your voice?
—detectable adjective
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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