penetration
act of entering or passing through
The action of going into or through something, like a wall, the ground, or the air.
the penetration of [something] into/through [something]
- The bullet showed almost no penetration of the armored glass.
- Better insulation can reduce the penetration of cold air into the house.
- The report measured the penetration of sunlight into the deep ocean.
- Engineers tested the penetration of radio signals through concrete walls.
- Troops attempted rapid penetration of the border defenses at dawn.
- The knife made a small penetration in the wood.
- Rain caused water penetration through the old roof.
- We studied the penetration of light in water in science class.
- The thick door stopped any penetration of sound.
- There was no penetration of the ball into the goal line.
sexual insertion into the body
The act of putting a sexual body part or object inside another person’s body during sex.
sexual penetration of [someone/something]
- The law defines rape as sexual penetration without consent.
- Condoms should be used from the moment of penetration to reduce the risk of infection.
- Some methods of contraception are designed to be effective even before penetration occurs.
- The doctor explained that pain during penetration can have several medical causes.
- Consent must be clear and ongoing for any form of sexual penetration.
- The booklet talked about safe sexual penetration.
- They learned that penetration without consent is a serious crime.
- Some people feel pain during penetration and should see a doctor.
- Condoms are used to make sexual penetration safer.
- The law uses the word penetration in its definition of rape.
extent a product is used
How many people in a group are using or buying a product or service, compared with how many could use it.
[company]'s penetration in [a market/region/segment]
- Smartphone penetration now exceeds 90 percent in many countries.
- The company aims to double its penetration in the European market within five years.
- Streaming services have reached high penetration among younger consumers.
- Low internet penetration remains a major barrier to online education in rural areas.
- They used discounts to quickly increase penetration in the student segment.
- Mobile phone penetration is very high in this city.
- The bank wants more penetration in the local market.
- Internet penetration is still low in some villages.
- They study market penetration before they launch a new product.
- Good marketing can help increase product penetration.
unauthorized or test access to systems
Getting into a computer system or network, usually to test how easy it is to break in.
penetration of [a system/network] by [someone]
- The security team carried out a penetration test on the company’s servers.
- No successful penetration of the network was detected during the attack.
- Penetration testing helps organizations find weaknesses before hackers do.
- They hired an external firm to attempt penetration of their cloud infrastructure.
- Strict access controls reduced the risk of unauthorized penetration.
- The company did a penetration test on its computers.
- Good passwords can help stop network penetration.
- They work in security and try to prevent system penetration.
- The hacker tried penetration of the bank’s website.
- Penetration testing is an important job in IT security.
depth or extent of entry
How deep or how far something goes into or through something else.
the penetration of [something] to/into [a depth/level]
- The study measured the penetration of tree roots into the soil.
- X-ray penetration was insufficient to see the deepest layers of the rock.
- Heat penetration was greatest near the metal surface.
- Snow penetration made walking extremely difficult for the hikers.
- The coating reduces water penetration to a depth of only a few millimeters.
- The depth of penetration was five centimeters.
- They checked the penetration of water in the wall.
- Heat penetration was not very deep.
- Soil tests showed poor root penetration.
- We measured light penetration in the water.
deep mental understanding
The ability to understand ideas or problems very clearly and deeply.
[someone]'s penetration into [a subject/problem]
- Her book shows real penetration into the causes of social inequality.
- The critic praised the film for its psychological penetration.
- Despite its length, the report lacks penetration and clear insight.
- He spoke with unusual penetration about the country’s political crisis.
- The essay combines stylistic elegance with intellectual penetration.
- The writer shows great penetration into human feelings.
- His comments on the film had real penetration.
- The study has detail but little penetration.
- She answered the question with surprising penetration for her age.
- The teacher liked the penetration in his essay.
ability of sound/light/smell to carry
How well a sound, light, or smell can go through space or things and still be clear.
the penetration of [a sound/light/smell] through [something]
- The penetration of her voice cut through the noise of the crowd.
- Fog reduces the penetration of car headlights.
- The penetration of the chemical smell made it hard to stay in the room.
- Due to poor penetration, the alarm could not be heard outside the building.
- Designers adjusted the speakers to improve the penetration of high frequencies.
- The penetration of his voice filled the room.
- Thick curtains reduced the penetration of light.
- The strong smell had great penetration in the small house.
- The teacher wanted more penetration in the singer’s high notes.
- The fog was heavy and cut the penetration of the lights.
- Base: penetration
- Plural: penetration, penetrations
armor penetration
1weapon’s ability to pierce armor
How well a bullet, shell, or other weapon can go through armor or strong protective material.
- The new ammunition offers much better armor penetration.
- In the game, you need a weapon with higher armor penetration to defeat tanks.
- They tested the armor penetration of different types of bullets.
internet penetration
1how many people use internet
How many people in a country or area use the internet, compared with the total number of people there.
- Internet penetration has risen sharply in rural areas.
- Low internet penetration is a major challenge for online learning.
- The report compares internet penetration across different regions.
market penetration
1how widely a product is used
How many people in a group are using or buying a product, compared with all the people who could use or buy it.
- Market penetration for electric cars is still relatively low in this region.
- The company focused on increasing market penetration before raising prices.
- They track market penetration to see how successful the new app is.
mobile phone penetration
1how many people use mobiles
How many people in a country or area have or use a mobile phone, compared with the total number of people there.
- Mobile phone penetration is now over 100 percent in some markets, meaning many people have more than one phone.
- High mobile phone penetration has changed how people access the internet.
- The government tracks mobile phone penetration to plan digital services.
penetration pricing
1low prices to gain customers
A business plan where a company sets a very low price at first to get many customers quickly.
- The startup used penetration pricing to enter the crowded market.
- Penetration pricing can build market share but reduce short-term profit.
- They abandoned penetration pricing once they reached their target customer base.
penetration test
1a single security attack test
One security check where experts try to enter a computer system like a hacker would.
- The penetration test showed that the password system was weak.
- They run at least one penetration test every year.
- After the penetration test, the company updated its firewalls.
penetration testing
1security test by simulated attack
Checking how safe a computer system is by trying to hack it in a legal and controlled way.
- Regular penetration testing is essential for any online bank.
- They hired an external firm to perform penetration testing on their servers.
- Penetration testing revealed several serious security holes.
sexual penetration
1sexual act of insertion
Putting a sexual body part or object inside another person’s body during sex.
- The legal definition of rape includes any non-consensual sexual penetration.
- Condoms should be used from the start of sexual penetration.
- Some people experience pain during sexual penetration and need medical advice.