profile

American  

[proh-fahyl] / ˈproʊ faɪl /

noun

• profiles
  plural

1. the outline or contour of the human face, especially the face viewed from one side.

   Synonyms:

   silhouette

2. a picture or representation of the side view of a head.

3. an outlined view, as of a city or mountain.

4. an outline of an object, as a molding, formed on a vertical plane passed through the object at right angles to one of its principal horizontal dimensions.

5. a drawing or the like representing this.

6. Surveying. a vertical section of the ground surface taken parallel to a survey line.

7. a verbal, arithmetical, or graphic summary or analysis of the history, status, etc., of a process, activity, relationship, or set of characteristics.

   a biochemical profile of a patient's blood;

   a profile of national consumer spending.

8. an informal biography or a concisely presented sketch of the life and character of a person.

9. Digital Technology. the personal details, images, user statistics, social media timeline, etc., that an individual creates and associates with a username or online account.

10. a set of characteristics or qualities that identify a type or category of person or thing.

    a profile of a typical allergy sufferer.

11. the look, configuration, or lines of something.

    cars with a modern profile.

12. degree of noticeability; visibility.

13. Psychology. a description of behavioral and personality traits of a person compared with accepted norms or standards.

14. Theater. a flat stage property or scenic piece cut from a firm, thin material, as of beaverboard or plywood, and having an irregular edge resembling the silhouette of a natural object.

15. (in a gear) the outline of either end of a tooth.

16. Naval Architecture. a longitudinal elevation or section of a vessel.

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verb (used with object)

• profiles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• profiled,
  past participle,  past
• profiling
  present participle

1. to draw a profile of.

2. to produce or present a history, description, or analysis of.

   The magazine will profile the candidate in its next issue.

profile British  

/ ˈprəʊfaɪl /

noun

1. a side view, outline, or representation of an object, esp of a human face or head

2. a view or representation of an object, esp a building, in contour or outline

3. a short biographical sketch of a subject

4. a graph, table, or list of scores representing the extent to which a person, field, or object exhibits various tested characteristics or tendencies

   a population profile

5. a vertical section of soil from the ground surface to the parent rock showing the different horizons

6. 1. a vertical section of part of the earth's crust showing the layers of rock

   2. a representation of such a section

7. the outline of the shape of a river valley either from source to mouth ( long profile ) or at right angles to the flow of the river ( cross profile )

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verb

1. to draw, write, or make a profile of

2. to cut out a shape from a blank (as of steel) with a cutter

profile Idioms  

1. see keep a low profile.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-profile
  noun
• profiler
  noun
• profilist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• profiles
  plural

Participles

• profiling
  present
• profiled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• profile
  simple
• profiles
  simple
• have profiled
  perfect
• has profiled
  perfect
• am profiling
  progressive
• are profiling
  progressive
• is profiling
  progressive
• have been profiling
  perfect progressive
• has been profiling
  perfect progressive

Past

• profiled
  simple
• had profiled
  perfect
• was profiling
  progressive
• were profiling
  progressive
• had been profiling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will profile
  simple
• will have profiled
  perfect
• will be profiling
  progressive
• will have been profiling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of profile

First recorded in 1650–60; (for the noun) from Italian prof(f)ilo, noun derivative of profilare “to delineate, outline,” from pro- pro- ¹ + -filare, derivative of filo “line, thread,” from Latin fīlum

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Explanation

If a magazine editor asks you to write a profile of an up-and-coming novelist, she's asking you to write a biographical sketch, to give the readers a sense of the novelist as a person. Profile comes from the Italian profilo, the thin colored border of cloth that outlines a garment. It came to mean any kind of sketch or outline, especially of faces. If someone compliments your profile means you look nice from the side (try outlining from other angles). If you have a criminal profile, your criminal record creates a picture of an active life of crime. A profile is also a drawing of the earth in cross-section, showing layers of crust.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

profile profiles profiled profiling

A chorus of testimony from people who were once closest to Musk builds a profile of a megalomaniacal con artist.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

One of those wrongly identified was a Chinese American whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a New York-based finance professional who graduated from Cornell University in 2020 -- four years before the alleged rape.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Selling has accelerated throughout the AI ecosystem in recent weeks as investors worry about the growth profile in the teeth of higher interest rates and the struggles of Anthropic and OpenAI to reach profitability.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Outside of work, Kariem enjoyed creating products with his laser engraver and 3D printers, as well as cooking, watching anime and spending time with family and friends, according to his profile on the school's website.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

And I blinked in surprise, staring at the tiny profile picture beside these words, at the beaming, bronze-skinned, round-faced woman who missed me and was thinking of me.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

For now, the five brain profiles offer a different way to understand depression.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026

In its email to customers, Asos confirmed data profiles were taken but said no bank details or passwords were accessed.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

With thousands of DNA profiles to process, fragmented remains and limited technical capacity and manpower, experts warn matching bodies to families could take weeks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Now with the help of artificial intelligence, Etsy has built more precise profiles on over 70% of its shoppers, with plans to map the rest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

If anything, a number in these contexts enhances individuality; no two people have the same credit-card number, for example, whereas many have similar names or personality traits or socioeconomic profiles.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Gibney also profiled Holmes in his 2019 work “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,” which adds another layer of coincidental symmetry: Fielder’s film hits theaters on Oct.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Our recording captured a clear, permanent mark distinguishing the two very first cells, letting us trace nearly every cell we profiled from the embryo back to one or the other," said Kim.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

Short already was profiled in the 2026 Netflix documentary “Marty, Life Is Short,” nominated for three Emmys in its own right.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Looking at England's equaliser in the Euro 2024 final, the ability of individual players - profiled properly - to come up with solutions was clear.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Additionally, Bobby was profiled in the school newspaper, the Dutchman, adding to his student-as-celebrity status.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Future approaches could include personalized treatment plans based on immune profiling of individual wounds.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 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

“It helps place the city of Los Angeles on a path of ending racial profiling by LAPD,” said Chauncee Smith, of Catalyst California, a group that advocates for racial justice.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

The movement regularly holds protests against police killings of African Americans and against such issues as racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

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Related Words

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