v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Detected; p. pr. & vb. n. Detecting. ] 1. To uncover; to discover; to find out; to bring to light; as, to detect a crime or a criminal; to detect a mistake in an account. [ 1913 Webster ]

Plain good intention . . . is as easily discovered at the first view, as fraud is surely detected at last. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Like following life through creatures you dissect,
You lose it in the moment you detect. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To inform against; to accuse. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He was untruly judged to have preached such articles as he was detected of. Sir T. More.

Syn. -- To discover; find out; lay bare; expose.

a. [ L. detectus, p. p. of detegere to uncover, detect; de + tegere to cover. See Tegument. ] Detected. [ Obs. ] Fabyan. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, detects or brings to light; one who finds out what another attempts to conceal; a detector. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Capable of being detected or found out; as, parties not detectable. “Errors detectible at a glance.” Latham. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. detectio an uncovering, revealing. ] The act of detecting; the laying open what was concealed or hidden; discovery; as, the detection of a thief; the detection of fraud, forgery, or a plot. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such secrets of guilt are never from detection. D. Webster. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who business it is so detect criminals or discover matters of secrecy. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Fitted for, or skilled in, detecting; employed in detecting crime or criminals; as, a detective officer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., a revealer. ] One who, or that which, detects; a detecter. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

A deathbed's detector of the heart. Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically: (a) An indicator showing the depth of the water in a boiler. (b) (Elec.) A galvanometer, usually portable, for indicating the direction of a current. (c) (Elec.) Any of various devices for detecting the presence of electric waves. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Bank-note detector, a publication containing a description of genuine and counterfeit bank notes, designed to enable persons to discriminate between them. --
Detector lock. See under Lock. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Railroads) A bar, connected with a switch, longer than the distance between any two consecutive wheels of a train (45 to 50 feet), laid inside a rail and operated by the wheels so that the switch cannot be thrown until all the train is past the switch. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]