# radar

Pronunciation: US say "RAY-dar" /ˈɹeɪ.dɑɹ/; UK say "RAY-dah" /ˈɹeɪ.dɑː(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A way of finding far-off objects and measuring their position, speed, or other properties by sending out radio waves, usually microwaves, and analyzing the echoes that bounce back.
   - Simple: A way of finding objects far away by sending out radio waves and listening for the parts that bounce back.
   - _Air traffic controllers rely on radar to track every aircraft within their sector._
   - _Modern radar can detect a small drone several miles away._
2. An installation or single unit of a radio-wave detection system, including its transmitting and receiving equipment.
   - Simple: A single machine or station that sends and receives radio waves to find objects.
   - _Technicians spent the week repairing the harbor's aging radar._
   - _The destroyer's bridge housed three separate radars linked to one display._
3. A category of detection system that uses reflected radio waves, distinguished by platform, configuration, frequency, power, and similar technical attributes.
   - Simple: A type of radio-wave detection system, grouped by how it is built, where it is used, and how strong it is.
   - _Phased-array radars can scan the sky electronically without moving any parts._
   - _Air defense units field a long-range radar designed to track ballistic missiles._
4. A keen, almost instinctive ability to detect or sense something, especially what others fail to notice.
   - Simple: A strong natural ability to notice something that other people often miss.
   - _Years on the trading floor gave her an uncanny radar for shifting market sentiment._
   - _Editors rely on a finely tuned radar that flags a fabricated quote instantly._

## Verb

5. To examine or track something using radar, or to sense it as if by radar.
   - Simple: To search an area using radar, or in a way that feels like it.
   - _The destroyer radared every vessel within fifty miles of the strait._
   - _Some animals seem to radar their prey through sheer instinct, sensing movement in total darkness._

## Origin

By anacronymic evolution from RADAR.

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