detection
/dɪˈtɛk.ʃən/noun
detection is spelled D-E-T-E-C-T-I-O-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, detection means “The act or process of detecting, uncovering, or finding out, the discovery of something new, hidden, or disguised” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of detection is detections.
How many letters and syllables are in detection?
| Letters | 9: D-E-T-E-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,456th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is detection?
Detection appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce detection?
- US /dɪˈtɛk.ʃən/
- Australia /dɪˈtek.ʃən/
Detection has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-detection.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with detection?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as detection from its last stressed vowel (/ɛkʃən/):
- section
- direction
- perfection
- complexion
- deflection
- interconnection
- imperfection
- flexion
- interjection
- dejection
- circumspection
- bisection
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of detection
- detections plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does detection mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act or process of detecting, uncovering, or finding out, the discovery of something new, hidden, or disguised.
- 2
obsoleteSynonym of accusation, the exposure of concealed information about a crime or heresy.
- 3
The act or process of finding or detecting an electrical signal in a carrier wave.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Detection in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act of detecting or sensing something:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does detection come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin dētēctiōnem. By surface analysis, detect + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).