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Sensors are used today almost everywhere. Radar guns bounce microwaves off moving cars. A burglar alarm may use a photosensor to detect when a beam of light has been broken, or may use ultrasonic sound waves that bounce off moving objects. Still other sensors may detect pressure (barometers) or chemicals (Breathalyzers and smoke detectors). Stud finders, used by carpenters to locate wooden studs under a wall, may employ magnets or radar. Wired gloves, which relay information about the position of the fingers, are used in virtual-reality environments. A cheap car alarm may be nothing but a shock sensor, in which a strong vibration will cause two metal surfaces to come together.
Examples of sensor in a Sentence
Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
In 2021, the base was girdled by thick steel cables and wooden planks (picture oversized dental braces), and the dozens of sensors and other monitoring instruments that now pick up even minute shifts.
—Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
That precision is made possible by the drone’s sensors.
—Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
The platform collects data from in-store sensors and 15 other unique datasets.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
Rick Snyder, Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police president, criticized the decision in a statement released Thursday evening, arguing the sensors – which are supposed to pinpoint gunfire and send the location to officers – could have proven useful.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Mar. 2024
That leak also claimed that the base Pixel 9 would come with three camera sensors, instead of the two that the Pixel 8 is equipped with.
—Janhoi McGregor, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Both cameras use the same slim body style and stabilized 24MP image sensors, with the angle of view as the differentiating factor—the GR III captures a wide 28mm-equivalent view, while the IIIx is a bit tighter at 40mm.
—Jim Fisher, PCMAG, 27 Mar. 2024
These are migrants who are actively trying to evade law enforcement and who are captured on cameras or sensors but are not apprehended for different reasons.
—CBS News, 24 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sensor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sensor
Cite this Entry
“Sensor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sensor. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sensor
noun
Medical Definition
sensor
noun
ˈsen(t)-sər
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