ping
Americanverb (used without object)
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pings,
present (3rd person singular)
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pinged,
past participle, past
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pinging
present participle
verb (used with object)
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pings,
present (3rd person singular)
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pinged,
past participle, past
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pinging
present participle
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Computers. to send an echo-request packet to (an IP address) and use the echo reply to determine whether another computer on the network is operational and the speed at which the data is being transferred.
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to make contact with (someone) by sending a brief electronic message, as a text message.
The design team should ping marketing to set up a meeting next week.
Ping me when you arrive, and I’ll meet you at the door.
noun
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pings
plural
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a pinging sound.
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an infrasonic or ultrasonic sound wave created by sonar in echolocation.
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an acoustic signal transmitted to indicate a location.
Rescue crews were able to follow the ping and locate the flight recorder.
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Computers. an echo-request and echo-reply protocol that tests a connection online or in a network by sending a packet to a host IP address and measuring the round-trip speed of data transfer.
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one of the possible sounds made by an electronic or mobile device to signal the receipt of data, as a phone or text message.
noun
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a short high-pitched resonant sound, as of a bullet striking metal or a sonar echo
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computing a system for testing whether internet systems are responding and how long in milliseconds it takes them to respond
verb
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(intr) to make such a noise
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(tr) computing to send a test message to (a computer or server) in order to check whether it is responding or how long it takes it to respond
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pingsimple
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pingssimple
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have pingedperfect
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has pingedperfect
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am pingingprogressive
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are pingingprogressive
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is pingingprogressive
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have been pingingperfect progressive
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has been pingingperfect progressive
Past
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pingedsimple
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had pingedperfect
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was pingingprogressive
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were pingingprogressive
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had been pingingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ping
First recorded in 1850–55; imitative
Explanation
A ping is a sharp, high-pitched, somewhat musical sound. Quickly tapping a spoon against a crystal glass makes a ping. If you ping someone, you contact them via computer or phone, which might ping when the message comes through. The word ping is onomatopoeic, or imitative — in other words, it sounds just like its meaning. Things that might ping include your electronic alarm clock, some video games, a stone against your car's windshield, and the timer on your microwave. In the 1800s, a ping was primarily the sound a bullet made as it hit something — today it's just as likely to mean "a message sent from one computer to another."
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:
Police contacted the woman’s cellphone carrier two days later to ping her phone, but the company was unable to provide any information on the location of Brophy’s device.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
It was a rare, unexplained, glitch in a system that blares out warnings of incoming attacks multiple times a day through loudspeaker announcements on the street and metro, and the collective ping of phone notifications.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
Lu - the 64-year-old president of the American Changle Association, a Chinese community group - argued he was simply trying to help people renew driver's licenses and facilitate social activities like mahjong and ping pong.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
In Australia, Surfshark’s ping times ranged from 281 to 422 ms, while NordVPN’s latency was lower — between 292 and 406 ms — based on test data.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2026
He was playing a guitar and he had on skinny pointy-toed cowboy boots and he was tap' ping them while he was playing the music.
From "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo
He trades the plush G-funk popular in L.A. for a style more common in New York—all hard surfaces and rigid drums, with a barely-there melody that pings like sonar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
His phone app pings; he puts on his protective mask and heads out wearily to fight crime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
This is the kind of charge that pings around the internet but usually goes nowhere.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
The soundtrack is a series of bleeps and pings as fresh data is fed to dozens of men in T-shirts and hoodies hunched over joysticks and keyboards.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
I’m just settling in to bed when the pings begin again.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
Brophy is a hiker, and her Apple watch last pinged her at a trail head near the pond, according to the nonprofit support group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
I’ve worked for many, and I know the distinct frustration of being pinged with, “Just checking in!” less than an hour after being asked how something is “coming along.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Matters got worse after passersby with guns pinged holes in some of the barrels, and the poisonous stuff soaked about 15 feet down into the desert soil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Canadian women's skip Rachel Holman was pinged for a double touch.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
I used to dash by, feeling like a dartboard, a big red bull’s-eye that Mother pinged darts at.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
Traders and investors are pinging banks about how to get into suites or the lower bowl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
But sometimes, he says, it's nice to have a digital detox without his phone pinging.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
But she said she chose not to text them to see if they were safe, as a pinging sound might give their locations away.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
Cellphone pinging: Investigators, particularly those with FBI technical units, will use geo-fencing to scour the cell towers around Guthrie’s home for cellphone users.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
I thought we’d lost the spider until Tyson heard a faint pinging sound.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
