detect > define

verb

• Discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of.
  • usage: "She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water"; "We found traces of lead in the paint"
  • synonyms: observe, find, discover, notice

• (v.t.) 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.
• (a.) Detected.
• (v.t.) To inform against; to accuse.