also: an ink impression of the lines upon the fingertip taken for the purpose of identification
2
: something that identifies: such as
a
: a trait, trace, or characteristic revealing origin or responsibility
b
: analytical evidence (such as a spectrogram) that characterizes an object or substance
especially: the chromatogram or electrophoretogram obtained by cleaving a protein by enzymatic action and subjecting the resulting collection of peptides to two-dimensional chromatography or electrophoresis
c
: the base-pair pattern in an individual's DNA obtained by DNA fingerprinting
Detectives found his fingerprints all over the gun.
Everyone has a unique fingerprint.
Recent Examples on the WebPolice compared family photographs and took the woman’s fingerprints — and ruled her out, too.—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 7 June 2024 Both murders went unsolved for over three years due to lack of fingerprint matching at the murder scenes to anyone in criminal databases.—Madison Sikes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 June 2024 Her face was so badly damaged during the attack that detectives could only identify her using fingerprints, the sheriff’s office said.—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 6 June 2024 You might be asked to enter a pin number, receive a confirmation text or push notification on your phone, or use fingerprint or face ID to access your account.—Tamia Fowlkes, Journal Sentinel, 6 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for fingerprint
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fingerprint.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
especially: an ink impression of the lines on the fingertip taken for purpose of identification
2
: analytical evidence (as a spectrogram) that characterizes an object or substance
especially: the chromatogram or electrophoretogram obtained by cleaving a protein by enzymatic action and subjecting the resulting collection of peptides to two-dimensional chromatography or electrophoresis compare dna fingerprinting
fingerprint
2 of 2transitive verb
: to analyze (as spectrographically or chromatographically) in order to determine uniquely the identifying characteristics, origin, or constitution of
each protein was fingerprinted
fingerprintingnoun
Legal Definition
fingerprint
noun
fin·ger·print
: the impression of a fingertip on any surface
also: an ink impression of the lines upon the fingertip taken for the purpose of identification (as during the booking procedure following an arrest) see also dna fingerprinting
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