Usage Note
Detectar is a straightforward transitive verb used in medical, scientific, and security contexts. It takes a direct object without a preposition: detectaron el problema ('they detected the problem'). The noun detector is borrowed directly from English.
Examples
"Los médicos lograron detectar el virus a tiempo."
Natural Translation
The doctors managed to detect the virus in time.

Free starter pack
Building your Spanish vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore Spanish by topic