ping

1 of 2

noun

ˈpiŋ 

1

: a sharp sound like that of a striking bullet

2

: knock sense 2b

3

: the pulse of sound waves reflected from or emitted by a submerged object in submarine signaling or detection and heard by special apparatus

Baylor … trained his sound unit from one bearing to another, listening for submarines. It threw out a directional sound beam, a series of "pings." These pings, if they hit a solid object like a submarine, reflected back to the operator.

—William J. Lederer

4

: a signal sent from one computer to another across a network for usually diagnostic purposes (as to determine network speed or the status of the target computer)

With Napster, however, all you have to do is type in the name of the song or artist and up will pop 2,745 Phish songs sorted by the host computer's type of modem connection and ping rate.

—Karl Taro Greenfeld

ping

2 of 2

verb

pinged; pinging; pings

intransitive verb

1

: to make a ping

2

: to ricochet with a ping

gravel pinging off … the car

—Margaret Atwood

transitive verb

1

: to cause to ping

ping a bell

2

: to locate (something, such as a submerged object or submarine) by detecting the reflection of a pulse of sound waves : to send out a ping (see ping entry 1 sense 3) in order to locate (something)

We will have to follow this big old boy on the surface and then try to ping him with the sonar when he dives.

—Corwin Ericson

3

a

: to send a signal to (a computer) in order to determine its status or the status of the connecting network

Without realizing what he was doing, he pinged every server in a .gov domain. Next day, his ISP canceled his account; the retribution was swift and uncompromising.

—Bill Machrone

b

: to send a signal to (a device, such as a cell phone) in order to determine its status or location

Howell officers warned police agencies across the state. … Police pinged the man's phone to get its location.

—Andrew Ford

c

: to send a usually brief message (such as a text message) or notification to (a person, a person's phone, etc.)

… provides an opportunity to check the time or see who pinged you while you were coming down the mountain …

—Wired

Examples of ping in a Sentence

Verb

Pebbles pinged off the car.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

He had been located thanks to a transceiver that pinged his location, and was transported to the hospital with broken bones. —Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024

One reason the black and white works so well is in part because pulling off Tom’s deceptions relies heavily on this earlier time, when there were no cellphones to be tracked or email attachments that could ping across the globe. —Brian Lowry, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024

Meticulous but not rigid offense that got the ball pinging from one side to the other, players turning down merely-good looks for wide-open shots. —Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024

According to the lawsuit, the search warrant affidavit also shows a screenshot from the app, with a circle around the general area where the missing iPhone may have pinged. —Holly Yan, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024

By Hank Tucker, Forbes Staff On Sunday, January 7, Yin Wu’s inbox kept pinging with prospective customers asking about her company’s product, which helps startups track ownership of their shares, a.k.a. cap tables. —Hank Tucker, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024

Penny pinged at 12:51 p.m. Monday off the coast of Florida near Sarasota County, according to Ocearch's shark tracker. —Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024

The Elko County Sheriff’s office fielded Jim’s call, and searched the area where Britney’s phone had last pinged, off a road past Spring Creek High School. —Dateline Nbc, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2023

Their phones are pinging constantly—one study found that the typical adolescent now gets 237 notifications a day, roughly 15 every waking hour. —Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

imitative

First Known Use

Noun

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1855, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing ping

• ping-pong

Kids Definition

ping

noun

ˈpiŋ

1

: a sharp sound like that of a bullet striking

2

: knock entry 2 sense 3b

ping verb

Geographical Definition

Ping

geographical name

ˈpiŋ 

river 360 miles (579 kilometers) long in western Thailand flowing south-southeast to join the Nan River forming the Chao Phraya River