1
: a sharp sound like that of a striking bullet
2
3
: the pulse of sound waves reflected from or emitted by a submerged object in submarine signaling or detection and heard by special apparatus
Baylor … trained his sound unit from one bearing to another, listening for submarines. It threw out a directional sound beam, a series of "pings." These pings, if they hit a solid object like a submarine, reflected back to the operator.—
William J. Lederer
William J. Lederer4
: a signal sent from one computer to another across a network for usually diagnostic purposes (as to determine network speed or the status of the target computer)
With Napster, however, all you have to do is type in the name of the song or artist and up will pop 2,745 Phish songs sorted by the host computer's type of modem connection and ping rate.—Karl Taro Greenfeld
Karl Taro Greenfeld
pinged; pinging; pings
1
: to make a ping
2
: to ricochet with a ping
gravel pinging off … the car—Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood1
: to cause to ping
ping a bell
2
: to locate (something, such as a submerged object or submarine) by detecting the reflection of a pulse of sound waves : to send out a ping (see ping entry 1 sense 3) in order to locate (something)
We will have to follow this big old boy on the surface and then try to ping him with the sonar when he dives.—Corwin Ericson
Corwin Ericson3
a
: to send a signal to (a computer) in order to determine its status or the status of the connecting network
Without realizing what he was doing, he pinged every server in a .gov domain. Next day, his ISP canceled his account; the retribution was swift and uncompromising.—Bill Machrone
Bill Machrone
b
: to send a signal to (a device, such as a cell phone) in order to determine its status or location
Howell officers warned police agencies across the state. … Police pinged the man's phone to get its location.—Andrew Ford
Andrew Ford
c
: to send a usually brief message (such as a text message) or notification to (a person, a person's phone, etc.)
… provides an opportunity to check the time or see who pinged you while you were coming down the mountain …—Wired
WiredExamples of ping in a Sentence
Verb
Pebbles pinged off the car.
Recent Examples on the Web
Anna Spiegel, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024
Residents began to flee their homes after their phones began pinging with text messages from Israel and calls from unknown numbers urging them to evacuate immediately.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 24 Sep. 2024
The whys, what-ifs and what-nows pinged around Patrick’s brain for those five hours afterward.
—Nick Kosmider, The Athletic, 2 Aug. 2024
Police were able to ping Chmiel’s phone with the help of Chmiel’s mother.
—David Chiu, Peoplemag, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for ping 
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Verb
Smart sensors provide a hygienic, no-touch experience and also ping Throne-control with issues like low TP.
—Anna Spiegel, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024
Residents began to flee their homes after their phones began pinging with text messages from Israel and calls from unknown numbers urging them to evacuate immediately.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 24 Sep. 2024
The whys, what-ifs and what-nows pinged around Patrick’s brain for those five hours afterward.
—Nick Kosmider, The Athletic, 2 Aug. 2024
Police were able to ping Chmiel’s phone with the help of Chmiel’s mother.
—David Chiu, Peoplemag, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for ping
Dictionary Entries Near ping
Cite this Entry
“Ping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ping. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationGeographical Definition
Ping
geographical name
river 360 miles (579 kilometers) long in western Thailand flowing south-southeast to join the Nan River forming the Chao Phraya River
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