profile
Americannoun
-
profiles
plural
-
the outline or contour of the human face, especially the face viewed from one side.
- Synonyms:
- silhouette
-
a picture or representation of the side view of a head.
-
an outlined view, as of a city or mountain.
-
an outline of an object, as a molding, formed on a vertical plane passed through the object at right angles to one of its principal horizontal dimensions.
-
a drawing or the like representing this.
-
Surveying. a vertical section of the ground surface taken parallel to a survey line.
-
a verbal, arithmetical, or graphic summary or analysis of the history, status, etc., of a process, activity, relationship, or set of characteristics.
a biochemical profile of a patient's blood;
a profile of national consumer spending.
-
an informal biography or a concisely presented sketch of the life and character of a person.
-
Digital Technology. the personal details, images, user statistics, social media timeline, etc., that an individual creates and associates with a username or online account.
-
a set of characteristics or qualities that identify a type or category of person or thing.
a profile of a typical allergy sufferer.
-
the look, configuration, or lines of something.
cars with a modern profile.
-
degree of noticeability; visibility.
-
Psychology. a description of behavioral and personality traits of a person compared with accepted norms or standards.
-
Theater. a flat stage property or scenic piece cut from a firm, thin material, as of beaverboard or plywood, and having an irregular edge resembling the silhouette of a natural object.
-
(in a gear) the outline of either end of a tooth.
-
Naval Architecture. a longitudinal elevation or section of a vessel.
verb (used with object)
-
profiles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
profiled,
past participle, past
-
profiling
present participle
-
to draw a profile of.
-
to produce or present a history, description, or analysis of.
The magazine will profile the candidate in its next issue.
noun
-
a side view, outline, or representation of an object, esp of a human face or head
-
a view or representation of an object, esp a building, in contour or outline
-
a short biographical sketch of a subject
-
a graph, table, or list of scores representing the extent to which a person, field, or object exhibits various tested characteristics or tendencies
a population profile
-
a vertical section of soil from the ground surface to the parent rock showing the different horizons
-
-
a vertical section of part of the earth's crust showing the layers of rock
-
a representation of such a section
-
-
the outline of the shape of a river valley either from source to mouth ( long profile ) or at right angles to the flow of the river ( cross profile )
verb
-
to draw, write, or make a profile of
-
to cut out a shape from a blank (as of steel) with a cutter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
profilesimple
-
profilessimple
-
have profiledperfect
-
has profiledperfect
-
am profilingprogressive
-
are profilingprogressive
-
is profilingprogressive
-
have been profilingperfect progressive
-
has been profilingperfect progressive
Past
-
profiledsimple
-
had profiledperfect
-
was profilingprogressive
-
were profilingprogressive
-
had been profilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of profile
First recorded in 1650–60; (for the noun) from Italian prof(f)ilo, noun derivative of profilare “to delineate, outline,” from pro- pro- 1 + -filare, derivative of filo “line, thread,” from Latin fīlum
Explanation
If a magazine editor asks you to write a profile of an up-and-coming novelist, she's asking you to write a biographical sketch, to give the readers a sense of the novelist as a person. Profile comes from the Italian profilo, the thin colored border of cloth that outlines a garment. It came to mean any kind of sketch or outline, especially of faces. If someone compliments your profile means you look nice from the side (try outlining from other angles). If you have a criminal profile, your criminal record creates a picture of an active life of crime. A profile is also a drawing of the earth in cross-section, showing layers of crust.
Vocabulary lists containing profile
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Jacket"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Journalism
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A chorus of testimony from people who were once closest to Musk builds a profile of a megalomaniacal con artist.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
“A strong customer base, established record of execution, backlog conversion and leading infrastructure performance is all supportive of their issuer profile relative to neocloud peers, in our view,” the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
But he also has a global profile, including in Africa, where Infantino recently received a major re-election boost when receiving the backing of all 54 member national associations after promising an increase in funding.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
One of those wrongly identified was a Chinese American whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a New York-based finance professional who graduated from Cornell University in 2020 -- four years before the alleged rape.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
It was open to Lauren’s profile and my unhijabbed picture.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
In a world of sanitised celebrity profiles, Kim's portrayal of upheaval and discomfort is unusual.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
With thousands of DNA profiles to process, fragmented remains and limited technical capacity and manpower, experts warn matching bodies to families could take weeks.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The profiles track whether buyers are preparing for back-to-school, moving, collecting rare books or hunting for gifts, getting sharper the more someone shops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
When coffee drinkers stopped drinking coffee, researchers observed substantial shifts in their gut metabolite profiles compared with people who did not normally consume coffee.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Twice a day he checks his campus mailbox for letters and postcards stamped with the multicolored profiles of the queen.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"Our recording captured a clear, permanent mark distinguishing the two very first cells, letting us trace nearly every cell we profiled from the embryo back to one or the other," said Kim.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
“I was in love with the frisson of transgression,” said Anna, one of the disillusioned former believers profiled in Sam Adler-Bell’s March 2026 investigation “The women leaving the new right.”
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Food trends columnist Adam Chandler profiled Lev Sercarz about cooking in this new era of American eating, and received suggestions for the best seasonings—from sumac to smoked salt—for spicing up even the simplest meals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
The walls are lined with paintings done by her husband, Igor — a painter and sculptor whom The Times profiled in 1991.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Twenty feet from us stood a figure, straight, motionless, profiled, the scarlet hieb and white shirt an inlay of bright enamel against the green of the high grass.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
In early 2024, a bone sample was sent to DNA Labs International for genealogy profiling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
This summer André, alongside fellow comedian Clayton English, settled a racial profiling suit against Clayton County police in Georgia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
They had not been charged because profiling and documentation were still under way before the deaths, he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
But activists say hundreds have been pushed across the border from Assam in recent months without due legal process, often based on ethnic profiling.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
“Now, you two experts are on handsome retainers for your profiling work. Correct?”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
