profiling

American

[proh-fahy-ling] / ˈproʊ faɪ lɪŋ /

noun

the use of personal characteristics or behavior patterns to make generalizations about a person, as in
the use of these characteristics to determine whether a person may be engaged in illegal activity, as in

profiling British

/ ˈprəʊˌfaɪlɪŋ /

noun

the practice of categorizing people and predicting their behaviour according to particular characteristics such as race or age

racial profiling

"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

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:

profiling

“Many Hindu families in Ohio live with fear—fear of ICE raids, profiling based on accent or appearance and the constant anxiety of family separation,” Pyakurel wrote.

From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2026

In early 2024, a bone sample was sent to DNA Labs International for genealogy profiling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

They had not been charged because profiling and documentation were still under way before the deaths, he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

But activists say hundreds have been pushed across the border from Assam in recent months without due legal process, often based on ethnic profiling.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

He had had no experience with profiling, hadn’t been suspected of anything by anyone with real authority.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023