- present participle of probe.
probing
Americanadjective
noun
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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.
O’Herlihy was intellectually hungry — always probing new territory, questioning why things had to be a certain way.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
Rarely are our viewpoints contested, and if they are, filmmakers frequently stop short of probing the truth.
From Salon • Jun. 15, 2026
Representatives from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office attended Samsung’s headquarters in Suwon while probing trades between 2022 and 2024 associated with its acquisition of Rainbow Robotics, according to Yonhap, the local news agency.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
Federal regulators are probing former Rep. George Santos for allegedly trading illegally in a predictions contract referencing his State of the Union appearance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
To survive, he is out there constantly preying upon others, probing for any human weakness like a ferret.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
