PROFILE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does profile mean? 

• PROFILE (noun)
  The noun PROFILE has 5 senses:

1. an analysis (often in graphical form) representing the extent to which something exhibits various characteristics

2. an outline of something (especially a human face as seen from one side)

3. biographical sketch

4. degree of exposure to public notice

5. a vertical section of the Earth's crust showing the different horizons or layers

  Familiarity information: PROFILE used as a noun is common.

• PROFILE (verb)
  The verb PROFILE has 2 senses:

1. write about

2. represent in profile, by drawing or painting

  Familiarity information: PROFILE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROFILE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An analysis (often in graphical form) representing the extent to which something exhibits various characteristics

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

a psychological profile of serial killers

Hypernyms ("profile" is a kind of...):

chart; graph (a visual display of information)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "profile"):

population profile (a chart showing the number of people as a function of their ages)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An outline of something (especially a human face as seen from one side)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("profile" is a kind of...):

lineation; outline (the line that appears to bound an object)

Derivation:

profile (represent in profile, by drawing or painting)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Biographical sketch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("profile" is a kind of...):

biography; life; life history; life story (an account of the series of events making up a person's life)

Derivation:

profile (write about)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Degree of exposure to public notice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

profile; visibility

Context example:

that candidate does not have sufficient visibility to win an election

Hypernyms ("profile" is a kind of...):

salience; saliency; strikingness (the state of being salient)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "profile"):

low profile (a state of low visibility in which public notice is avoided)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A vertical section of the Earth's crust showing the different horizons or layers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("profile" is a kind of...):

cross section (a section created by a plane cutting a solid perpendicular to its longest axis)

Meronyms (parts of "profile"):

horizon (a specific layer or stratum of soil or subsoil in a vertical cross section of land)

soil horizon (a layer in a soil profile)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "profile"):

soil profile (a vertical section of soil from the ground surface to the parent rock)

• PROFILE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they profile    ... he / she / it profiles   
Past simple: profiled   
Past participle: profiled   
-ing form: profiling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Write about

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

The author of this article profiles a famous painter

Hypernyms (to "profile" is one way to...):

compose; indite; pen; write (produce a literary work)

Domain category:

authorship; composition; penning; writing (the act of creating written works)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

profile (biographical sketch)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Represent in profile, by drawing or painting

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "profile" is one way to...):

interpret; represent (create an image or likeness of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

profile (an outline of something (especially a human face as seen from one side))

 Context examples 

A high genetic risk combined with an unfavourable lifestyle profile was associated with a more than twofold increased risk of stroke compared with a low genetic risk and a favourable lifestyle.

(A healthy lifestyle cuts stroke risk, irrespective of genetic risk, University of Cambridge)

"So we profiled every molecule of mRNA in the cells as they started to die and then as they recovered."

(Cells Back from Brink of Death, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Scientists also found unusual protuberances in the usually smooth profile at the ring's edge.

(Possible New Moon Forming Around Saturn, NASA)

DHA-paclitaxel exhibits improved pharmacokinetic and toxicity profiles when compared to conventional paclitaxel and has demonstrated antineoplastic activity in animal models of cancer.

(DHA-paclitaxel, NCI Thesaurus)

These measurements will provide information down to where the upper and lower atmospheres meet, giving scientists a full profile of the upper tier.

(Mars Mission Spacecraft Enters Orbit around Red Planet, NASA)

Compared to bleomycin, boanmycin appears to have a more favorable toxicity profile.

(Boanmycin Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

A genetic profile indicating low expression of cellular tight junction proteins, including E-cadherin, which is often associated with triple-negative breast cancer and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

(Claudin-Low, NCI Thesaurus)

Uveal melanoma with intermediate metastatic risk as defined by gene expression profiling.

(Class 1b Uveal Melanoma, NCI Thesaurus)

This antibody has a specific glycosylation profile that may enhance its ADCC response against EGFR-expressing tumor cells.

(Anti-EGFR Monoclonal Antibody GT-MAB 5.2-GEX, NCI Thesaurus)

A biological profile may come from patient data or from tests done in the laboratory or in animals.

(Biological profile, NCI Dictionary)