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penetration

UK/pɛ.nɪˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/US/pɛ.nəˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/
nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,107 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: penetrations

Penetration is the going into or through something. Deep penetration, market penetration, penetration of the armour.

In business, market penetration is the share of possible customers you have reached, and it is a standard measure. In engineering and defence it means getting through a barrier. The word has a sexual sense as well, which context always makes clear.

Definitions of penetration

  1. 1nounpenetrationThe going into or through something.B2+

    “The thick coat prevents the penetration of water, so the dog stays dry.”

penetration is an entering.

Where it comes from

Latin penetratio comes from penetrare, to pierce or enter, from penitus, inward.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *peh₂-

  2. Latin

    penetrātiō

  3. Old French

    penetracïon

  4. Middle English

    penetracioun

  5. English, today

    penetration

Built from

  • penetrō · Latin — pierce

From Middle English penetracioun, from Old French penetracïon, and its source, Latin penetrātiō, from the participle stem of penetrō (“pierce”). Morphologically penetrate + ion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

penetration in the wild

  • The underlying cause is generally a fear that penetration will hurt.

    Vaginismus

  • There are different types of penetration testing, depending on the goal of the organization which include: Network (external and internal), Wireless, Web Application, Social Engineering, and Remediation Verification.

    Penetration test

  • A penetration test can help identify a system's vulnerabilities to attack and estimate how vulnerable it is.

    Penetration test

  • Vaginal fingering is medically called digital (vaginal) penetration.

    Fingering (sexual act)

  • Some double penetration dildos include a vibrating motor that allows them to be used as double penetration vibrators.

    Double penetration dildo

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the penetrō family

penetratepenetration

penetration — used about once every 2,360 pages · #7,107 · point at the bar for the others