metal detector
"metal-detector" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“metal detector” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A hand-held device that uses electromagnetic induction to detect buried metal.
Corpus desk
Index EN-metal-detector · metal detector · English
metal detector · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | metal detector |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “metal detector” in English
Rare enough to double-check
metal detector is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for metal detector, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: metal + detector The correct English form is metal detector, spelled M-E-T-A-L- -D-E-T-E-C-T-O-R.
Definition
- 1A hand-held device that uses electromagnetic induction to detect buried metal.
- 2A metal-detecting device, incorporated into a full-body scanner structure, through which people pass, used to detect certain concealed weapons and certain contraband.
Etymology
metal + detector
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.