Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
ballistic fingerprinting

ballistic fingerprinting

1 7.7
A way police use to find which gun fired a bullet by matching marks on bullets and casings
  • noun
  • /bəˈlɪstɪk ˈfɪnɜrˌprɪntɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : huellaje balístico
  • The use of ballistic fingerprinting helps police solve crimes by linking bullets to specific firearms.

Examples

  • Through ballistic fingerprinting, investigators were able to connect the shooting to a registered weapon.

  • With advancements in ballistic fingerprinting, forensic experts can now trace bullets back to their original firearms more efficiently.

  • Advances in ballistic fingerprinting have made it easier to link firearms to multiple crime scenes.

  • The investigators used ballistic fingerprinting to match the bullet to the suspect's gun.

  • The police department invested in new ballistic fingerprinting technology to improve their forensic investigations.

  • The police use ballistic fingerprinting to solve gun crimes.

  • Did you hear about ballistic fingerprinting in the news?

Synonyms

fingerprinting
vsballistic fingerprinting
  • Specialized
7 3.0

Taking ink or digital photos of a person's fingers to identify them

focuses on marks left on ammunition pieces to identify a firing weapon
ballistic identification
vsballistic fingerprinting
  • Specialized
7.2

To find which gun fired a bullet by matching marks on the bullet and its case

uses the same method but is the preferred technical term
bullet fingerprinting
vsballistic fingerprinting
  • Specialized
7.2

A way to identify the gun that fired a bullet by examining marks on the bullet and its case

is the more general official phrase for the same identification process

Surface Forms

ballistic fingerprinting singular
ballistic fingerprintings plural

Morphology

ballistic + fingerprinting

The constituents 'ballistic' (relating to projectiles) and 'fingerprinting' (identification by unique marks) provide clear clues that the term concerns identifying weapons from marks on bullets or casings. However, this is a specialized forensic extension of 'fingerprinting' (toolmark identification rather than human prints), so a B1 learner who knows the words may only partially infer the precise technical procedure without prior exposure.

Etymology

Ballistic fingerprinting, where ballistic means bullets and fingerprinting means the unique marks, comes from the idea that bullets and casings get tiny, unique scratches from a gun, like a fingerprint. By comparing these marks, investigators can 'identify' or 'match' a specific gun to a crime.