1. a person or device that discovers or identifies the presence of something
Usage: often used in technical or scientific contexts

Examples

• The smoke detecter in the kitchen went off when we burned the toast.
• A motion detecter triggered the outdoor lights when the cat walked by.
• The metal detecter at the airport scanned passengers for prohibited items.
• Scientists used a radiation detecter to measure contamination levels.
• The fire detecter system alerted the building to the emergency.