- present participle of probe.
probing
Americanadjective
noun
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probings
plural
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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.
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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.
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of probing
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
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:
Investigators are probing factors that may have contributed to the crash, including the plane’s speed, the weather and runway safeguards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Still, the new theoretical framework could give researchers a powerful way to expand future searches and use Earth's natural electromagnetic environment as a tool for probing some of the lightest possible forms of dark matter.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
A nurse, who was visibly unsettled and asked not to be identified, told AFP that the hospital was probing the circumstances of the fire and "doesn't want its reputation to be damaged any further".
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Internet would-be sleuths have popped up in Zach’s comments on social media this week, probing Brian’s behavior and previous conduct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
He rolls the president on one side and carefully searches for a puncture wound, his fingers slipping along the skin, probing for a telltale oozing of blood.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
Patients have turned to him after watching graphic videos of his healing rituals, which include nasal probings, body incisions and eye scrapings.
From New York Times ● Dec. 11, 2018
The probings about driver versus three-wood had lost steam.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2015
His finding echoes the results of similar probings by other researchers into the 2008 statistics.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 26, 2012
Matters of marriage, sex, science and womanhood are raised by Ruhl, a continually inventive playwright whose lyrical sense of the absurd is as acute as her insightful probings into the psyches of her quirky characters.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2011
Therefore the young man, Marshall Wace, coming as a seasonable diversion from these extremely personal piercings and probings, found greater favour in her eyes than he otherwise might.
From Deadham Hard by Lucas Malet
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.
