fingerprinting

noun

fin·​ger·​print·​ing ˈfiŋ-gər-ˌprin-tiŋ 

1

: the act or an instance of taking an ink impression of someone's fingerprints for the purpose of identification

sent him in for fingerprinting

also : identification using this process

But he was also concerned that fingerprinting was slipping out of the hands of men like himself whom he considered "scientists" and into the hands of men like Collins whom he regarded as poorly educated clerks.

—Simon Cole

2

: identification by analyzing characteristics unique to individuals

genetic fingerprinting

protein fingerprinting

Examples of fingerprinting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Government services—more locations now offer services for other federal agencies, including passport processing, fingerprinting and identity proofing, consolidating government tasks under one roof. —Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

In a similar attempt to mimic legitimate proceedings, another of her clients was told to hold their finger up to their webcam — mimicking the fingerprinting that immigrants undergo. —Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025

Much of the material focuses on VPN detection, SSL fingerprinting, and full-session logging. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2025

This is called digital fingerprinting. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fingerprinting

• DNA fingerprinting
• genetic fingerprinting

Rhymes for fingerprinting

• glinting
• hinting
• minting
• printing
• splinting
• sprinting
• squinting
• tinting
• imprinting
• reprinting
• unstinting