evidence sufficient to establish a thing as true, or to produce belief in its truth.
anything serving as such evidence.
What proof do you have?
the act of testing or making trial of anything; test; trial.
to put a thing to the proof.
the establishment of the truth of anything; demonstration.
Law. (in judicial proceedings) evidence having probative weight.
the effect of evidence in convincing the mind.
an arithmetical operation serving to check the correctness of a calculation.
Mathematics, Logic. a sequence of steps, statements, or demonstrations that leads to a valid conclusion.
a test to determine the quality, durability, etc., of materials used in manufacture.
Distilling.
the arbitrary standard strength, as of an alcoholic liquor.
strength with reference to this standard: “100 proof ” signifies a proof spirit, usually 50% alcohol.
Photography. a trial print from a negative.
Printing.
a trial impression, as of composed type, taken to correct errors and make alterations.
one of a number of early and superior impressions taken before the printing of the ordinary issue.
to pull a proof.
(in printmaking) an impression taken from a plate or the like to show the quality or condition of work during the process of execution; a print pulled for examination while working on a plate, block, stone, etc.
Numismatics. one of a limited number of coins of a new issue struck from polished dies on a blank having a polished or matte surface.
the state of having been tested and approved.
proved strength, as of armor.
Scots Law. the trial of a case by a judge alone, without a jury.
able to withstand; successful in not being overcome.
proof against temptation.
impenetrable, impervious, or invulnerable.
proof against outside temperature changes.
used for testing or proving; serving as proof.
of standard strength, as an alcoholic liquor.
of tested or proven strength or quality.
proof armor.
noting pieces of pure gold and silver that the U.S. assay and mint offices use as standards.
to test; examine for flaws, errors, etc.; check against a standard or standards.
Printing. prove.
to proofread.
to treat or coat for the purpose of rendering resistant to deterioration, damage, etc. (often used in combination).
to proof a house against termites; to shrink-proof a shirt.
Cooking.
to test the effectiveness of (yeast), as by combining with warm water so that a bubbling action occurs.
to cause (especially bread dough) to rise due to the addition of baker's yeast or other leavening.
any evidence that establishes or helps to establish the truth, validity, quality, etc, of something
law the whole body of evidence upon which the verdict of a court is based
maths logic a sequence of steps or statements that establishes the truth of a proposition See also direct induction induction
the act of testing the truth of something (esp in the phrase put to the proof )
Scots law trial before a judge without a jury
printing a trial impression made from composed type, or a print-out (from a laser printer, etc) for the correction of errors
(in engraving, etc) a print made by an artist or under his supervision for his own satisfaction before he hands the plate over to a professional printer
photog a trial print from a negative
the alcoholic strength of proof spirit
the strength of a beverage or other alcoholic liquor as measured on a scale in which the strength of proof spirit is 100 degrees
able to resist; impervious (to)
the roof is proof against rain
having the alcoholic strength of proof spirit
of proved strength or impenetrability
proof armour
(tr) to take a proof from (type matter, a plate, etc)
to proofread (text) or inspect (a print, etc), as for approval
to render (something) proof, esp to waterproof
What does -proof mean? The combining form -proof is used like a suffix meaning “resistant, impervious to.” Impervious means "impenetrable." It is occasionally used in a variety of everyday and technical terms. The form -proof ultimately comes from Latin proba, meaning “test.”
See evidence.
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English prove, prooff, prof, proufe, alteration (by association with the vowel of prove ) of preove, proeve, prieve, pref, from Middle French preve, proeve, prueve, from Late Latin proba “a test,” akin to Latin probāre “to test and find good”; cf. pree
Proof is the evidence that shows something is true or valid. When you show the logical steps that take you from your hypothesis that the world is round to the conclusion that it is, you're formulating a proof. Photographic prints that haven't been touched up are also called proofs, and that’s also what you call the first copy of a printed text, before it's checked for errors and corrected. When you check a text for errors, you're proofing. If your poker strategy is foolproof, even somebody who knows nothing about poker — a poker fool, that is — can’t get it wrong. Proof is a word you’ll see on bottles of alcohol, too: 90-proof rum means it's 45% alcohol.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He is the loudest possible proof that you do not need a gun to be the bravest man on the hill.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
“The results of AB 66 and this first phase go beyond my wildest imaginations,” said Boerner, who hopes this proof of concept lays the groundwork for a future statewide alert system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The tests are not absolute proof of endometriosis but can provide an indication that may result in referral to specialist services.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
“The proof is going to be in the movement of companies. You’re going to see listings on this exchange like has never happened before.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
“I mean, did she change or not? Did you get the proof you needed?”
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Hotel managers learned that, despite jokes about -proof industries, relying heavily on a Western male clientele was unwise at a time when the United States and Europe were buffeted by recession.
From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2010
About 503 million credit cards are inuse in the U.S. today� -proof enough that "plastic money" is replacing the folding kind.
From Time Magazine Archive
“It’s fair to say that we haven’t seen yet the spark of genius that you could attribute to some of the grandest proofs in the history of humanity,” Bubeck told me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
“We’re on the path to achieve this transition from small proofs of concept to large enterprise deals,” Baratz said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
Behroozian’s photographs serve as quiet records, proofs of relationships, moments of care and traces of presence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
The models presented by the team serve as early proofs of concept.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 29, 2025
Such signs therefore cannot be full proofs but only indications; they have to be interpreted in the context.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Campbell ran Ben’s Bread solo for six of the last eight years, sometimes speeding between multiple kitchens across the city to get everything proofed, baked and packaged.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2023
"Rural communities are losing out because the policy hasn't been rural proofed", said Rachel Evans; the organisation's director for Wales.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2022
Tip the proofed dough out to the center of the parchment paper so the seam is facing down.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2022
Apparently, the host explained that she had "stupid proofed" the room – not just by using the notes but also making hardware adjustments.
From Fox News ● Dec. 21, 2021
There was not a piece of armour proofed in Europe but what Unde Dap had a theory about it He was furious with the new Gothic style, with its ridges and scallop-patterns and fluting.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Existing state law requires landlords to maintain certain “standard characteristics” for a dwelling unit including adequate hot and cold running water, heat, and weather proofing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2025
Amazon believes the new chip offers a path to scaling up to more powerful machines with this type of error proofing built in, but researchers admit there are many challenges ahead.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2025
The Barrett campaign described this as a simple proofing screw-up and said that the team had been working off of a template used ahead of the state’s Aug. 6 primary.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2024
Got a bread baker on your gift list? Etsy.com has sellers of personalized loaf pans; proofing and baking kits; patterned linen bread bags; and handmade baskets and crockery.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
The only similarity between the rest of the town and the church is the small windows covered with iron bars, but the shambler proofing is barely noticeable on such an impressive building.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
