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ping

[ping]
verb (used without object)
  1. to produce a sharp sound like that of a bullet striking a sheet of metal.
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verb (used with object)
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
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noun
  1. a pinging sound.
  2. an infrasonic or ultrasonic sound wave created by sonar in echolocation.
  3. an acoustic signal transmitted to indicate a location: Rescue crews were able to follow the ping and locate the flight recorder.
  4. 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.
  5. one of the possible sounds made by an electronic or mobile device to signal the receipt of data, as a phone or text message.
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Origin of ping

First recorded in 1850–55; imitative
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

soundknockclinkting

Examples from the Web for pinged

Historical Examples

  • In clouds they came, and pinged and buzzed and bit till we were nearly mad.

    She

    H. Rider Haggard

  • A rifle-shot rang out, and a bullet “pinged” over the water and splintered the side of the canoe where Dingley sat.

    Northern Lights

    Gilbert Parker

  • Two of them pinged against the instrument board, another passed completely through the cockpit, just in front of his stomach.

    Aces Up

    Covington Clarke

  • The revolver "pinged," there was a flash of light, but the bullet sped past him, and Drake flung himself upon his man.

    Nell, of Shorne Mills

    Charles Garvice

  • A rifle-shot rang out, and a bullet "pinged" over the water and splintered the side of the canoe where Dingley sat.

British Dictionary definitions for pinged

ping

noun
  1. a short high-pitched resonant sound, as of a bullet striking metal or a sonar echo
  2. computing a system for testing whether internet systems are responding and how long in milliseconds it takes them to respond
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verb
  1. (intr) to make such a noise
  2. (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
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Derived Formspinging, adjective

Word Origin

C19: of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pinged

ping

n.

1835, imitative of the sound of a bullet striking something sharply. Meaning "short, high-pitched electronic pulse" is attested from 1943. As a verb from 1855; in computer sense is from at least 1981. Related: Pinged; pinging.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper