profiling

American

[proh-fahy-ling] / ˈproʊ faɪ lɪŋ /

noun

the use of personal characteristics or behavior patterns to make generalizations about a person, as in
the use of these characteristics to determine whether a person may be engaged in illegal activity, as in

profiling British

/ ˈprəʊˌfaɪlɪŋ /

noun

the practice of categorizing people and predicting their behaviour according to particular characteristics such as race or age

racial profiling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But thanks to a breakthrough in DNA profiling, that's now changed.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

DNA profiling was in the early stages so it couldn't be used, but Dr Richard Shepherd, former Home Office forensic pathologist, said evidence from the body led them to the truth.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026

Even Palantir’s own employees have expressed concerns about potential ethnic profiling and democratic norms.

From Slate • Jan. 28, 2026

"As advances in molecular profiling allow us to detect pre-leukemic states years before clinical onset, understanding how stromal and immune cells interact provides a foundation for preventive therapies that intercept disease progression before leukemia develops."

From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2025

“Now, you two experts are on handsome retainers for your profiling work. Correct?”

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023