probing
Americanadjective
noun
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the act or practice of examining, investigating, or exploring something in a deep or searching way.
Constant probing of the night sky by scientists reveals an abundance of activity within our solar system.
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the act of examining or exploring something by means of a probe or any of various instruments, devices, etc..
Probing of the blocked duct was done under anesthesia.
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Computers. the process of scanning a network, database, webpage, web app, etc., in order to obtain information about its structure and any security weaknesses that could be used to launch an attack: undertaken either maliciously by hostile parties, or diagnostically and preventively by those wishing to improve security.
Other Word Forms
- probingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of probing
First recorded in 1660–70; 2000–05 gauging for def. 3; probe ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective sense; probe ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun senses
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.
Possibilities include probing gender dynamics within Neanderthal society, or migration habits -- perhaps males were likely to leave their societies while females stayed with their families, for example.
From Barron's
Why limit the capacity of the Freedom of Information Act to allow probing questions of the monarchy?
From BBC
Andrew hasn’t commented on the allegations, and the police haven’t detailed exactly what aspects of his time in office they are probing.
The game began like a heavyweight title fight, with both teams cautiously probing the other for weaknesses.
From Los Angeles Times
Wiseman has spent a career probing the complex inner workings and painfully human errors of America’s establishments, but in marriage itself, he may have found the most fraught, mysterious and unreformable institution of all.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
