Definition of ping

noun

• a measure of network lag, often used in online gaming.

  I'm getting terrible pings, so I'm going to connect to a different server.

  by The Jargon File, Apr 18 2009.

• a short message sent to a person, often to enquire about their availability.

  Could you send Bob a ping and see if he's available for a 4pm meeting?

  by The Jargon File, Apr 18 2009.

• a small network message sent by a computer to check for the presence and alertness of another computer. See also ACK.

  by The Jargon File, Apr 18 2009.

• a message (sent literally) to enquire whether someone is present via instant messaging or internet chat. ACK is the affirmative response. (NAK is a humorous negative response, meaning "No, I'm not here.")

  Person A: ping.
  
  Person B: ACK.

  by The Jargon File, Apr 18 2009.

verb

• to send a short message to someone or call them briefly, often to enquire about their availability.

  Could you ping Bob and see if he's available for a 4pm meeting?

  by Mark L., Newburyport, MA, USA, Nov 07 1999.

• to contact by any means.

  I'll ping you later, when we are ready.

  by Tom B., Hoboken, NJ, USA, Aug 31 2003.

• To send a message to all members of a mailing list requesting an ACK in order to verify that everybody's e-mail addresses work.

  We haven't heard much of anything from Geoff, but he did respond with an ACK both times I pinged the list.

  by The Jargon File, Apr 18 2009.

origin

• The submariners' term for a sonar pulse is also called a "ping." A folk etymology suggests that PING is an acronym for "Packet INternet Groper", but the author of the Unix command to perform a ping denies this origin.

  by The Jargon File, Apr 18 2009.