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:
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
You can also be notified by way of the “Where’s My Ballot?” tracking tool if you have signed up for automatic notifications that will ping you if there are issues with your ballot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
How refreshing to know that when someone needs a break, I can say, “Let’s circle back,” and eventually he’ll ping me on Teams to ask, “Can I put this back on your radar?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
The canteen, where staff were playing ping pong and pool just 24 hours earlier, was transformed into a nightclub with more than 400 guests.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
The jacket button tumbled onto the podium with a soft ping, and Mr. Dimblewit looked down, his cheeks turning red.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Before Claude, Flieller received pings about stats such as heart-rate variability, or HRV, which generated more stress than clarity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
This is the kind of charge that pings around the internet but usually goes nowhere.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Prosecutors said the victim pressed his cell’s emergency call button, which turned on a green light outside his door and sent a series of pings to notify the guard on duty in the living area.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 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
Your top-down system is heavily invested, and it gets reinforced by the bottom-up pings alerting you to what are, in a sense, plot updates.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Won’t you be able to see who or what pinged you when you pick up the phone in a few minutes any way out of habit?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 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
Looked more comfortable in the car and before the track limits violation got him pinged in sprint qualifying, looked ahead of team-mate Sainz.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
This might have all pinged loudly on Rowan and Citra’s radar, had the High Blade not immediately announced that the next order of business was the apprentices.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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 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
My phone is pinging near constantly with alerts from Signal groups that exist to defend and support our community.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2026
I had to shout over the sound of the rain pinging against the silver, rippled body of the trailer the truck had been hauling.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
