fingerprinting

noun

fin·​ger·​print·​ing ˈfiŋ-gər-ˌprin-tiŋ 

1

: the act or an instance of taking an ink impression of someone's fingerprints for the purpose of identification

sent him in for fingerprinting

also : identification using this process

But he was also concerned that fingerprinting was slipping out of the hands of men like himself whom he considered "scientists" and into the hands of men like Collins whom he regarded as poorly educated clerks.

—Simon Cole

2

: identification by analyzing characteristics unique to individuals

genetic fingerprinting

protein fingerprinting

Examples of fingerprinting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Other tracking methods, such as cookies and browser fingerprinting, can still identify users. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 26 Oct. 2024

Device Intelligence Another promising avenue is device intelligence, which includes techniques like proxy detection, device fingerprinting and behavioral biometrics. —Tamas Kadar, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024

The product of fingerprinting is a user identity key—a unique combination of hardware, browser and network data. —Ilya Lashch, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024

From 1992 until his retirement in 2021, Santer pursued research in climate fingerprinting at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. —Ben Santer, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fingerprinting

• DNA fingerprinting
• genetic fingerprinting