ping

\ ˈpiŋ

Definition of ping

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : a sharp sound like that of a striking bullet

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

verb

pinged; pinging; pings

Definition of ping (Entry 2 of 3)

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

3a : 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

Ping

geographical name

\ ˈpiŋ

Definition of Ping (Entry 3 of 3)

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

Examples of ping in a Sentence

Verb Pebbles pinged off the car.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Instead, players will have to make do with communal areas at the hotel filled with board games and ping pong tables set up by the league. — oregonlive, "New-look Thorns ready to (finally) get started: ‘We are so grateful we have a chance to play in a game this weekend’," 26 June 2020 There will be ping pong, although the NBA guidebook insists on one-on-one play only (no doubles). — Jeff Mcdonald, ExpressNews.com, "Life inside NBA’s proposed bubble maybe not for everyone," 17 June 2020 Dick’s Sporting Goods has deals on bikes, basketball hoops and ping pong tables as well as outdoor, camping and hiking gear for the backyard or the backwoods, plus free shipping on orders of $49 or more. — oregonlive, "Father’s Day: Great sports, exercise gift ideas to get dads fit," 14 June 2020 Tornadoes and ping pong ball sized hail are possible, according to the National Weather Service. — Madeline Mitchell, Cincinnati.com, "Severe T-storm watch in effect through 10 p.m.; warnings in effect north of Cincinnati," 10 June 2020 Their cavernous stadium echoing only to the sound of the players' shouts and the ball pinging from boot to boot, instead of the usual wall of noise created by 80,000 fans. — Alex Thomas, CNN, "In eerie silence, Bayern Munich closes in on Bundesliga title with win over Dortmund," 26 May 2020 When her phone was pinged for a location, it was found inside her abandoned car with keys at a local church on S.R. 28, according to the sheriff’s office. — Cincinnati.com, "Police searching for missing 18-year-old from Highland County," 19 May 2020 Meanwhile, the messages made with the aid of tobacco and vape money continue to ping their way around the world. — Tiffany Kary, Bloomberg.com, "Philip Morris Money Is Funding Pro-Vaping Virus Spin," 15 Apr. 2020 People are less likely to ping you if your circle’s not green. — Brian Barrett, Wired, "How to Work From Home Without Losing Your Mind," 3 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ping.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.