probing

[proh-bing]

adjective

1. examining, investigating, or exploring something in a deep or searching way.

   There was scarcely any discussion of the proposal—no probing questions, and no legal or ethical issues raised.

noun

1. the act or practice of examining, investigating, or exploring something in a deep or searching way.

   Constant probing of the night sky by scientists reveals an abundance of activity within our solar system.

2. the act of examining or exploring something by means of a probe or any of various instruments, devices, etc..

   Probing of the blocked duct was done under anesthesia.

3. Computers.,  the process of scanning a network, database, webpage, web app, etc., in order to obtain information about its structure and any security weaknesses that could be used to launch an attack: undertaken either maliciously by hostile parties, or diagnostically and preventively by those wishing to improve security.

Other Word Forms

• probingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of probing¹

First recorded in 1660–70; 2000–05 gauging for def. 3; probe ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective sense; probe ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses

Example Sentences

Since the bankruptcy filing, new management has been probing the company’s accounting practices and asset transfers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"And they have been probing our telecommunication networks here in Australia too," Burgess said.

Read more on BBC

The Fannie investigators were probing to find out who had made the orders, whether Pulte had the authority to seek the documents and whether or not they had followed proper procedure, the people said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"A solid-state magnetic sensor of this kind could be very useful for probing, for instance, biological systems," Jayich said.

Read more on Science Daily

He entered private meetings with the lenders and the bankers and the rating agencies probing for an intelligence he had yet to detect.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• astute 
• discerning 
• incisive 
• insightful 
• penetrating 
• perceptive 
• piercing 
• subtle 
• trenchant