noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/dɪˈtɛktə(ɹ)/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛktə(ɹ)
CMU ARPABET:D IH0 T EH1 K T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A device capable of registering a specific substance or physical phenomenon, and that optionally sounds an alarm or triggers a warning.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Smoke detectors are mandatory in public buildings.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A device capable of registering a specific substance or physical phenomenon, and that optionally sounds an alarm or triggers a warning.
An indicator showing the depth of the water in a boiler.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A device capable of registering a specific substance or physical phenomenon, and that optionally sounds an alarm or triggers a warning.
A galvanometer, usually portable, for indicating the direction of a current.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
any device that receives a signal or stimulus (as heat or pressure or light or motion etc.) and responds to it in a distinctive manner
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sensor, sensing element
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: device
Narrower terms: metal detector, mine detector, photoelectric cell, photoconductive cell, photocell, electric eye, magic eye, trace detector
5
noun
Meaning 5
electronic equipment that detects the presence of radio signals or radioactivity
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
