ping

[ ping ]
See synonyms for ping on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. to produce a sharp sound like that of a bullet striking a sheet of metal.

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.

noun
  1. a pinging sound.

  2. an infrasonic or ultrasonic sound wave created by sonar in echolocation.

  1. an acoustic signal transmitted to indicate a location: Rescue crews were able to follow the ping and locate the flight recorder.

  2. 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.

  3. one of the possible sounds made by an electronic or mobile device to signal the receipt of data, as a phone or text message.

Origin of ping

1
First recorded in 1850–55; imitative

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ping in a sentence

  • Even if we didn't have new ideas that kept pinging the economy, and filtering in, the economy would only go down so far.

    Interview With Edmund Phelps | The Daily Beast | July 13, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • The pinging of the gnats hovering over and among the sedges made an incessant murmur through the warm, sultry air.

  • Though bullets were kicking up spurts of dust in the road or ping- pinging against the steel turret he would not be hurried.

    Fighting in Flanders | E. Alexander Powell
  • He felt the bullets pinging against his armor plate and ripping through his wings.

  • The pinging ceased sharply: the drumming continued; and I looked up to see the mess sergeant standing over me, at attention.

    Foe-Farrell | Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
  • Our dreams of home were interrupted by the "pinging" of bullets, and the more distressing sounds of missiles of larger caliber.

    A Boy Trooper With Sheridan | Stanton P. Allen

British Dictionary definitions for ping

ping

/ (pɪŋ) /


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

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

Origin of ping

1
C19: of imitative origin

Derived forms of ping

  • pinging, adjective

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