What does "ping" mean?

1. (a sharp sound) a short, high-pitched ringing sound. 2. (internet latency) the speed of your internet connection, specifically how long it takes for data to travel. 3. (to message someone) to send someone a quick message or email to get their attention. 4. (to check a connection) to send a signal to a computer to see if it is working. 5. (to bounce) to hit something and bounce off quickly with a sharp sound.

ping

n. · v.

US //ˈpɪŋ// UK //pˈɪŋ// ping

1 a sharp sound (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a short, high-pitched ringing sound.

a brief, high-frequency acoustic signal, often metallic or electronic in quality.

Example

The microwave gave a loud ping to let me know the food was ready.

Example

The silence of the laboratory was interrupted only by the occasional ping of cooling metal as the furnace temperature dropped.
2 internet latency (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Technical Computing

the speed of your internet connection, specifically how long it takes for data to travel.

the round-trip time for a data packet to travel from a local host to a remote server and back.

Example

My ping is so high that the game is starting to lag.

Example

Competitive gamers often invest in high-speed fiber connections to ensure their ping remains below twenty milliseconds during online matches.
- latency
- lag

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3 to message someone (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

to send someone a quick message or email to get their attention.

to contact an individual via a brief electronic message, typically to request a status update or acknowledgement.

Example

I will ping you on Slack once the meeting is over.

Example

The project manager promised to ping the developers as soon as the client approved the final design specifications.
4 to check a connection (v.)
C1 Advanced Technical Computing

to send a signal to a computer to see if it is working.

to transmit an ICMP echo request to a network host to verify connectivity and measure response time.

Example

Try to ping the server to see if the website is actually down.

Example

The network administrator attempted to ping the remote gateway to determine whether the outage was internal or caused by the service provider.
- test
- query
5 to bounce (v.)
C2 Proficiency Informal

to hit something and bounce off quickly with a sharp sound.

to deflect or ricochet off a surface, typically producing a high-pitched sound upon impact.

Example

The small pebble pinged off the car's windshield but didn't leave a crack.

Example

Hailstones began to ping against the corrugated metal roof, creating a deafening rhythm that drowned out our conversation.