detector
nounUK /dɪˈtɛktə(ɹ)/
Etymology Borrowed from Latin dētēctor. Equals detect + -or (agent noun forming suffix).
1
A device capable of registering a specific substance or physical phenomenon, and that optionally sounds an alarm or triggers a warning.
- Smoke detectors are mandatory in public buildings.
- At 2255, it passed a hot axle box detector at Great Bridgeford. No problem here - the detector detected no abnormal temperatures anywhere in the consist.2026 March 18, Greg Morse, “1996 crash driving freight reforms”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 50:
2
An indicator showing the depth of the water in a boiler.
3
A galvanometer, usually portable, for indicating the direction of a current.
- Derived terms
38 terms
autodetector, bat detector, biodetector, Canny edge detector, CO detector, cryodetector, currency detector, detector bar, detectorism, detectorist, detectorless, detector van, duct detector, electron capture detector, envelope detector, Everhart-Thornley detector, fluorodetector, geodetector, heat detector, junction detector, lie detector, lightning detector, lithium-drifted silicon detector, metal detector, microdetector, motion detector, multidetector, peak detector, photodetector, radar detector, radiodetector, sarcasm detector, smoke detector, subdetector, time detector, watchman's detector, watchman's time detector, window detector