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.

Researchers are also exploring whether the same structural profiling method could be applied to other diseases, including Parkinson's and cancer.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026

Innovations in recent years to make testing methods more sophisticated include thermal imaging, light analysis using lasers, and DNA profiling.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026

DNA profiling matched Kirsty and forensics also found minute traces of her blood on Grabham's clothes.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026

So he said was disappointed by McDonnell’s unwillingness to call out racial profiling and excessive force by federal agents in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2026

“Now, you two experts are on handsome retainers for your profiling work. Correct?”

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

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