profiling

1 of 2

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

profiling

2 of 2

present participle of profile entry 2

Examples of profiling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After a 2018 raid at a Tennessee meatpacking plant, detained workers alleging racial profiling, excessive force and unlawful arrest – some under the FTCA – settled with the government for more than $1 million, the workers’ attorneys said. — Hanna Park, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026

Such scrutiny facilitated racial profiling, especially against Muslim Americans and those of Middle Eastern descent. — Michael E. Neagle, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2026

Civil liberties advocates warned that opaque selection criteria and inaccurate watch lists would encourage discriminatory profiling based on race or religion. — Rio Yamat, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026

Critics condemned it as racial and religious profiling, and it was dismantled in the following decade. — ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

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