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

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

Think of the return of BTS, then, as a test of K-pop’s lasting cultural penetration, particularly in the United States, which BTS has long treated as something of a second home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

India presents the biggest opportunity for user upgrades, with Pro-series penetration still relatively low despite rapid growth in iPhone users.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

“While Charter is continuing to push converged service penetration and has improved video performance, broadband performance has not followed and continues to experience headwinds,” Rollins wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

In general the effect of all this habitation of the soil is to aerate it and improve both its drainage and the penetration of water throughout the layers of plant growth.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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

“This assertion flew in the face of the overview which Golitsyn gave to us regarding Soviet bloc penetrations of Western services and strategic deception,” he said.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 1, 2023

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

From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2018

In 1804, and probably in 1805, there were various penetrations of the valley.

From Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800-1820 Anthropological Records 16(6):239-292, 1958 by Sherburne Friend Cook

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Related Words

• infiltration
• seepage

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