# ping

/ˈpɪŋ/ (US) · /pˈɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/ping
Updated: 2026-07-22

## Senses

### 1. a sharp sound

noun · CEFR B2

a short, high-pitched ringing sound.

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

- The microwave gave a loud ping to let me know the food was ready.
- The silence of the laboratory was interrupted only by the occasional ping of cooling metal as the furnace temperature dropped.

### 2. internet latency

noun · CEFR B2 · Technical

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

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

- My ping is so high that the game is starting to lag.
- Competitive gamers often invest in high-speed fiber connections to ensure their ping remains below twenty milliseconds during online matches.

### 3. to message someone

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

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

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

- I will ping you on Slack once the meeting is over.
- The project manager promised to ping the developers as soon as the client approved the final design specifications.

### 4. to check a connection

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

- Try to ping the server to see if the website is actually down.
- The network administrator attempted to ping the remote gateway to determine whether the outage was internal or caused by the service provider.

### 5. to bounce

verb · CEFR C2 · Informal

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

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

- The small pebble pinged off the car's windshield but didn't leave a crack.
- Hailstones began to ping against the corrugated metal roof, creating a deafening rhythm that drowned out our conversation.

## Examples

- I will send you a ping when I am ready to leave.
- The constant ping of incoming notifications made it difficult for him to focus on the report.
- The technician monitored the server's response to each ping, looking for any latency issues that might indicate a hardware failure in the primary router.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.