# detect

Pronunciation: say "di-TEKT" /dɪˈtɛkt/

## Verb

1. To discover or find something by means of careful search, examination, or probing.
   - Simple: To find or notice something hidden by looking or checking carefully.
   - _The new equipment can detect even faint traces of gas in the air._
   - _Investigators detected the fraud after reviewing years of financial records._
2. To work as a detective, investigating and solving cases. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To do the work of a detective, looking for clues and solving cases.
   - _They detect well together, splitting up to follow every lead across town._
   - _She detects in her spare time, piecing together small neighborhood mysteries._

## Adjective

3. Discovered or exposed; brought to light after being concealed. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Found out and no longer hidden, now brought into the open.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3** — From Latin detectus, the past participle of detegere ("to uncover or disclose"), formed from de- plus tegere ("to cover").
**Meaning 2** — A back-formation from the word detective.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/detect (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).