penetration

American  

[pen-i-tray-shuhn] / ˌpɛn ɪˈtreɪ ʃən /

noun

• penetrations
  plural

1. the act or power of penetrating.

2. mental acuteness, discernment, or insight.

   a scholar of rare penetration.

   Synonyms:

   profundity, depth, discrimination, perception, understanding

3. the obtaining of a share of a market for some commodity or service.

4. the extension, usually peaceful, of the influence of one nation or culture into the affairs of another.

5. a military attack that penetrates into enemy territory.

6. Gunnery. the depth to which a projectile goes into the target.

7. the measure of relative depth of field of a telescope or microscope, especially a binocular microscope.

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penetration British  

/ ˌpɛnɪˈtreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of penetrating

2. the ability or power to penetrate

3. keen insight or perception

4. military an offensive manoeuvre that breaks through an enemy's defensive position

5. Also called: market penetration. the proportion of the total number of potential purchasers of a product or service who either are aware of its existence or actually buy it

6. another name for depth of field

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpenetration
  noun
• prepenetration
  noun
• self-penetration
  noun
• transpenetration
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• penetrations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of penetration

First recorded in 1595–1605, penetration is from the Late Latin word penetrātiōn- (stem of penetrātiō ). See penetrate, -ion

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Explanation

Penetration refers to entering or making your way through something. It's also a deep insight. When something penetrates, it’s going through something else, so penetration is an example of this happening. You could talk about the penetration of a jacket by a knife, or the penetration of a fortress by an army. When a basketball team pierces the other team's defenses, it's called penetration. Also, in-depth perception or insight is called penetration. Just like physical penetration goes deep into something, mental penetration implies deep understanding of an idea or situation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

penetration penetrations

In the early 2000s, the BND scaled down its counterespionage efforts, leaving it more vulnerable to penetration by hostile agencies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

At Real Madrid, Bellingham played frequently as a false nine in his first season for the club, with Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo offering penetration from the wide positions.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

“Both of these products are achieving rapid penetration within our customer base,” Ramaswamy said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

“We have less than 1% penetration of our core market, and so you’re going to see a lot more from us.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

“The bacteria in Will’s lungs are deeply colonized. Antibiotic penetration into lung tissue requires time for any drug.”

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

He later explained that he was using a definition employed by the Border Patrol that defines “operational control” as “the ability to detect, respond and interdict border penetrations in areas deemed as high priority.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2024

“Little to none, compared to the extensive cyber penetrations and human spying activities,” the former senior intelligence officer told me.

From Slate ● Feb. 8, 2023

The CIA has suffered some disastrous penetrations of its spy networks in recent years.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 5, 2021

“They were still running penetrations of the U.S. government.”

From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2018

Two penetrations each are made on the tangential and radial surfaces, and one on each end of every specimen tested.

From The Mechanical Properties of Wood Including a Discussion of the Factors Affecting the Mechanical Properties, and Methods of Timber Testing by Samuel J. Record

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Related Words

• infiltration
• seepage

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