fingerprint
Americannoun
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fingerprints
plural
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an impression of the markings of the inner surface of the last joint of the thumb or other finger.
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such an impression made with ink for purposes of identification.
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any unique or distinctive pattern that presents unambiguous evidence of a specific person, substance, disease, etc.
verb (used with object)
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fingerprints,
present (3rd person singular)
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fingerprinted,
past participle, past
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fingerprinting
present participle
noun
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an impression of the pattern of ridges on the palmar surface of the end joint of each finger and thumb
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any identifying characteristic
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biochem the pattern of fragments obtained when a protein is digested by a proteolytic enzyme, usually observed following two-dimensional separation by chromatography and electrophoresis
verb
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(tr) to take an inked impression of the fingerprints of (a person)
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to take a sample of (a person's) DNA
Discover More
Fingerprinting is used extensively in criminal investigation, but it is also used as a means of identification by many organizations.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fingerprintsimple
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fingerprintssimple
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have fingerprintedperfect
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has fingerprintedperfect
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am fingerprintingprogressive
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are fingerprintingprogressive
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is fingerprintingprogressive
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have been fingerprintingperfect progressive
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has been fingerprintingperfect progressive
Past
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fingerprintedsimple
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had fingerprintedperfect
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was fingerprintingprogressive
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were fingerprintingprogressive
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had been fingerprintingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fingerprint
Explanation
The impression or mark that your finger makes on a surface is a fingerprint. And the one-of-a-kind pattern of raised whorls and lines on your fingertip? That's also a fingerprint. The earliest attempts to identify people using the prints their fingers made were in the 1820s, and by 1834 the word fingerprint came into use. To fingerprint someone is to press their finger into a pad of ink and then onto paper; after an arrest, the resulting fingerprints are put on file. The pattern on a person's fingertip is nearly unique, distinct, and won't change during their lifetime, making it a useful way to confirm someone's identity.
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:
Shulaker said he took a different approach, building miniaturized sensors that capture the overall aroma fingerprint of a sample.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Connors' DNA was found on an airbag and his fingerprint on a can of Red Bull.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Jurors were also informed that Walters’ partial fingerprint was found on the white Spencer’s bag holding the cache of stolen firearms that Oxford turned over to police.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Roberts sent the envelope that contained the threatening letter for forensic analysis, and a fingerprint returned a match to White, according to the criminal complaint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
In England, it was already possible to search by fingerprint; a complex system of classification meant that a new fingerprint could be compared to similar fingerprints on file in minutes.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
He said these statistical traces are akin to "fingerprints that a criminal leaves at a crime scene."
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
According to the National Park Service, enough remains were recovered to use DNA, dental records and fingerprints to identify all 40 victims aboard United Airlines flight 93, which crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Travelers can enroll online with proper documents and set up an in person appointment to take fingerprints and a photo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Turtle is less hopeful about finding fingerprints of life on Titan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
It is covered in plastic, but fingerprints have blackened parts of it anyway.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
As a teenager, she applied to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, paid her fee and was fingerprinted for a background check.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Because Cynthia’s white Fiero had been released to Gonzalez before it could be properly fingerprinted, police said it wasn’t useful to the case either.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
From Sunday, non-EU travellers entering Europe's Schengen open-borders zone will gradually be photographed and fingerprinted at border crossings, as the European Union rolls out its much-delayed automated border checks.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025
This is a yearly process mandated by the Indian government where Rohingya refugees are photographed and fingerprinted.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025
When Zach stepped toward us, I wondered if he’d been handcuffed, fingerprinted, photographed, pushed around.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Most states need to send cyclospora specimens to the CDC for genetic fingerprinting because their own public-health laboratories can’t do it, Williams said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Because the countries had no official diplomatic ties, it took months of negotiations to arrange that game, and the Iranians required special fingerprinting and security exemptions at the airport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
You can still be tracked through cookies, browser fingerprinting, account logins and other methods.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
Chemical fingerprinting indicates that microbial sources, including wetlands, inland waters, reservoirs, and agriculture, were responsible for most of the observed changes.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 10, 2026
But Bertillonage was already being displaced by a more efficient method of identification that was revolutionizing the world of scientific detection: fingerprinting.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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