profiling

noun

pro·​fil·​ing ˈprō-ˌfī-liŋ 

: the act or process of extrapolating information about a person based on known traits or tendencies

consumer profiling

specifically : the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior

racial profiling

Examples of profiling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What happens if social media’s data-gathering and profiling engine is turned not to selling merch or promoting political rhetoric, but to profiling enemies? —David Karpf, The Atlantic, 24 Sep. 2025

The task force model was previously in place but came under fire for racial profiling concerns and civil rights violations. —Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 24 Sep. 2025

Critics say the administration's hard-line stance is aggressive and have accused the agency of racial profiling, ignoring due process rights, and of human rights abuses. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025

Though the recent ruling applied to immigration, some civil rights advocates fear the Court may be signaling receptivity to greater racial profiling in criminal enforcement, too. —Ronald Brownstein, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for profiling

• beguiling
• compiling
• refiling
• reviling
• stockpiling
• unsmiling
• filing
• piling
• smiling
• styling
• tiling
• reconciling

Legal Definition

profiling

noun

pro·​fil·​ing

: the practice of singling out persons for law enforcement procedures on the basis of predetermined characteristics

specifically : the discriminatory practice of profiling based on race or ethnicity

racial profiling