detect

The word “detect” means to discover or notice something, often through careful observation or testing. In plain terms, to find or notice something that isn't obvious at first.

“Detect” is pronounced dih-TEHKT (/dɪˈtɛkt/ in IPA).

Here is “detect” used in a sentence: “The scanner can detect even trace amounts of the chemical.”

“Detect” is a verb.

The word “detect” comes from Latin. From Latin detegere, "to uncover" — from de- ("off") and tegere ("to cover").

“Detect” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

To detect something is to notice or discover it through careful observation or testing, and it usually implies the thing was hidden, faint, or easy to miss, such as a gas leak or a slight change in tone. Discover is broader and simply means to find something for the first time.

Notice suggests ordinary, often casual perception, as when you notice a friend's new haircut. Detect implies deliberate attention, careful observation, or the use of tests and instruments to find something subtle or concealed, such as detecting a fault, a disease, or a hint of sarcasm.

The noun is detection, meaning the act of discovering or noticing something, as in "early detection of disease." A person or device that detects something is a detector, as in smoke detector and metal detector.