biometrics

American  

[bahy-uh-me-triks] / ˌbaɪ əˈmɛ trɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. Biology, Statistics. biostatistics.

2. biometry.

3. the process by which a person's unique physical and other traits are detected and recorded by an electronic device or system as a means of confirming identity.

   Scanning of the human iris is a reliable form of biometrics.

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biometrics Cultural  

1. The measuring and analysis of such physical attributes as facial features and voice or retinal scans. This technology can be used to define an individual's unique identity, often for security purposes.

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Software is available that can match faces of individuals videotaped on the street to the picture of a suspected criminal or terrorist in a database. The use of biometrics is likely to increase in the future as security concerns become more of a priority for both governments and corporations following the September 11 attacks (2001).

Other Word Forms

• biometric
  adjective
• biometrical
  adjective
• biometrically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of biometrics

First recorded in 1900–05; biometr(y) + -ics

Example Sentences

If this all sounds like overkill—the continuous monitoring, the obsession with biometrics, the overwhelming amount of data—then these trackers aren’t for you.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

There’s no all-encompassing federal law regulating the use of biometrics, and many state laws also fall short, says Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on privacy rights.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

There’s a cool factor to the whole concept of biometrics, of buying some product with your palm or face.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

How much would it change your life and approach to health if you had instant access to your quantified biometrics?

From Slate • Mar. 1, 2026

Professor Pearson and his school of biometrics here ignore or at least fail to record one of those significant "correlations" which form the basis of his method.

From The Pivot of Civilization by Sanger, Margaret