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

India has emerged as the second-largest consumer of mobile data in the world, driven by lower tariffs and rising penetration of smartphones.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

"Cloud penetration is important for volcanoes because many of them, like Masaya, are in tropical areas where there is often cloud cover," Kim explained.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Conglomerate Astra International, which also sells vehicles, is likely to focus on maintaining its market leadership amid accelerating EV penetration and evolving competitive dynamics, she says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

That optimism is partly explained by their chart showing online penetration of global travel bookings at 70%, leaving $700 billion of bookings offline.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

For a moment, she was lost in admiration at her own acute penetration, and then she laughed gaily.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

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

Gu had been working as a spy inside the KMT and, when uncovered, defected and revealed large-scale spy penetrations.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 24, 2021

“Our original contractor told us they had to make 42 penetrations through the condo’s new roof to anchor our deck,” Karmin said.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2018

Six slender columns divide its seven arches, while above them are trefoil and quatrefoil penetrations contained within a segmental arch, broken by carved heads.

From Cathedrals of Spain by John A.

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Related Words

• infiltration
• seepage

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