Words · Common
ping
/pɪŋ/ · 4 letters · 4 distinct letters
- verb
hit with a pinging noise
The bugs pinged the lamp shade
- verb
sound like a car engine that is firing too early
the car pinged when I put in low octane gasoline
- verb
make a short high pitched sound
the bullet pinged when they struck the car
- verb
contact, usually in order to remind of something
I'll ping my accountant, April 15 is nearing
- verb
send a message from one computer to another to check whether it is reachable and active
ping your machine in the office
- noun
a sharp high pitched resonant sound (as of a sonar echo or a bullet striking metal)
Word history
Partly onomatopoeic, and partly continuing Middle English pingen (“to push, shove, pierce, stab, prod, goad, urge, feel remorse, incite”), from Old English pyngan (“to prick”), in turn likely from pungere.
From Wiktionary, under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0
Why this word counts
- Where it comes from
- Listed in the English Speller Database at size 40: the standard list most spell checkers use.
- How common it is
- Used about 6 times in every million words.
- In the spelling bee
- Daily answer A standard word with a definition we can show, so it can be a daily answer.