penetration

[ pen-i-trey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or power of penetrating. 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.

penetration

/ 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 calledmarket 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. See depth of field
   another name for depth of field

Other Words From

• nonpen·e·tration noun
• prepen·e·tration noun
• self-pene·tration noun
• transpen·e·tration noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of penetration¹

First recorded in 1595–1605, penetration is from the Late Latin word penetrātiōn- (stem of penetrātiō ). See penetrate, -ion

Example Sentences

I joined TechVets and it gave me my first insight into the tools and techniques of penetration testing.

From TechCrunch

Their spacing wouldn’t be ideal, but that amount of dribble penetration and vision might still be a useful option in certain situations.

From FiveThirtyEight

The company is also hoping to continue its penetration of the industrial vehicle market — another area where Xin says the Lunewave is beginning to see real traction.

From TechCrunch

Taobao grew rapidly as Internet penetration in China increased and the nation’s middle class grew.

From Fortune

Beyond its home market, China aims to become a global automotive superpower and considers wider penetration of its own EVs as essential to that objective longer term.

From Fortune

But at midnight the deepest penetration on Omaha was barely more than a mile.

From The Daily Beast

Offense III.b: Sexual Misconduct that includes one or more of the following: penetration, violent physical force, or injury.

From The Daily Beast

The scenes of penetration are obscured with masking or blurring.

From The Daily Beast

But does penetration on camera translate to a realistic portrait of sex and sex addiction?

From The Daily Beast

By 2026, a chart he included noted, we could have “100% autonomous penetration, utopian society.”

From The Daily Beast

He united the virtues of private life to great intelligence, deep penetration, and an elegant taste.

From Project Gutenberg

David's penetration crushed him, and, to avoid his glances, he looked downward.

From Project Gutenberg

She took him confidentially apart and explained to him that she had been in a condition of “penetration” for about three hours.

From Project Gutenberg

The subject of the present consideration is mixture to the point of total penetration of the different bodies.

From Project Gutenberg

That some solids do not penetrate other bodies, is due to their possession of qualities incompatible with that of penetration.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• infiltration
• seepage