ping

USPING/pɪŋ/

17 meanings of ping

1
nouncountable
A short, high, sharp sound, like a small bell or a tap on metal.
Like the small sound a glass makes when you tap it lightly.
The microwave gave a loud ping when the food was ready.
She heard a faint ping as the coin hit the tile floor.
Similarting, ding, clink, chime
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2
verbintransitive
To make a short, high, sharp sound.
Like the sound a glass makes when you flick it with your finger.
The microwave will ping when the timer ends.
Coins pinged against the tin as they dropped inside.
Similartick, clink, ting, ding
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3
verbtransitive
To send a small signal to a computer over a network to check if it is working.
Like knocking on a door to see if anyone is home.
You can ping the router to check whether your connection works.
She pinged the website but got no response.
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4
nouncountable
A small message sent to another computer to check if it is there and working.
Like a knock on the door that you wait to hear answered.
The router replied to every ping almost instantly.
A single ping told us the device was still connected.
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5
verbtransitive
To send someone a quick message hoping they will reply.
Like sending a quick text to get someone's attention.
I'll ping you when I get home.
She pinged her boss about the meeting time.
Similarmessage, contact, nudge
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6
nouncountable
A short message or alert that tells you something has happened.
Like a little bell that lets you know someone is calling you.
My phone gave a ping every time a new email arrived.
She ignored the constant pings from the group chat.
Similarnotification, alert, buzz
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7
nouncountable
A message sent to someone that asks them to reply or confirm.
Like leaving a note that asks, are you there?
I sent a quick ping to check if she was free.
He missed my ping about the deadline.
Similarmessage, note, line
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8
nouncountable or uncountable
The short delay between sending data and getting a reply over a network.
Like the wait between asking a question and hearing the answer.
My ping was so high that the video kept freezing.
Gamers want a low ping for fast reactions.
Similarlatency, lag, delay
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9
nouncountable
A mark a player puts on the game map so teammates can see something.
Like pointing at a spot on a map so your friends look there too.
She dropped a ping on the enemy base to warn her team.
Follow the ping to the right spot on the map.
Similarmarker
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10
nouncountable
A short, high sound sent out underwater to find ships or objects by its echo.
Like clapping in a cave and listening for the sound to come back.
The submarine sent out a ping and waited for the echo.
Each ping bounced back from the rocks below.
Similarpulse
Note

Practice

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Origin

The word is partly imitative of a sound. It also comes from Old English pyngan, meaning "to prick," which likely came from Latin pungere.