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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.

This passion for understanding the dimensions of profiling would forever shape Harris’ storytelling.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 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

Even Palantir’s own employees have expressed concerns about potential ethnic profiling and democratic norms.

From Slate • Jan. 28, 2026

Studies of racial profiling typically report the total number of people stopped and searched, disaggregated by race.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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