ping

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A sharp, high-pitched sound, as that made by a bullet striking metal.
2. n. See knock.
3. v. To make a sharp, high-pitched, metallic sound.
4. n. A protocol that sends a message to another computer and waits for acknowledgment, often used to check if another computer on a network is reachable.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To produce a sound like that of a rifle-bullet whistling through the air.
2. n. The whistling sound made by a bullet, as from a rifle, in passing through the air.

Wiktionary

1. n. A high-pitched, short and somewhat sharp sound.
2. n. A pulse of high-pitched or ultrasonic sound whose echoes provide information about nearby objects and vessels.
3. n. A packet which a remote host is expected to echo, thus indicating its presence.
4. n. An email or other message sent requesting acknowledgement.
5. v. To make a high-pitched, short and somewhat sharp sound.
6. v. To emit a signal and then listen for its echo in order to detect objects.
7. v. To send a packet in order to determine whether a host is present, particularly by use of the ping utility.
8. v. To ping and receive an acknowledgement.
9. v. To send an email or other message to someone in hopes of eliciting a response.
10. v. To flick.
11. v. To bounce.
12. v. To cause something to bounce.
13. nonstandard spelling of Latn (“pīng”).
14. nonstandard spelling of Latn (“píng”).
15. nonstandard spelling of Latn (“pìng”).

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The sound made by a bullet in striking a solid object or in passing through the air.
2. v. To make the sound called ping.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. hit with a pinging noise
2. n. a river in western Thailand; a major tributary of the Chao Phraya
3. v. contact, usually in order to remind of something
4. n. a sharp high-pitched resonant sound (as of a sonar echo or a bullet striking metal)
5. v. make a short high-pitched sound
6. v. send a message from one computer to another to check whether it is reachable and active
7. v. sound like a car engine that is firing too early