Profile

noun
1.
the outline or contour of the human face, especially the face viewed from one side.
2.
a picture or representation of the side view of a head.
3.
an outlined view, as of a city or mountain.
4.
an outline of an object, as a molding, formed on a vertical plane passed through the object at right angles to one of its principal horizontal dimensions.
5.
a drawing or the like representing this.
6.
Surveying. a vertical section of the ground surface taken parallel to a survey line.
Compare cross section (def 6).
7.
a verbal, arithmetical, or graphic summary or analysis of the history, status, etc., of a process, activity, relationship, or set of characteristics:
a biochemical profile of a patient’s blood; a profile of national consumer spending.
8.
an informal biography or a concisely presented sketch of the life and character of a person.
9.
Digital Technology. the personal details, images, user statistics, social-media timeline, etc., that an individual creates and associates with a username or online account.
10.
a set of characteristics or qualities that identify a type or category of person or thing:
a profile of a typical allergy sufferer.
11.
the look, configuration, or lines of something:
cars with a modern profile.
12.
degree of noticeability; visibility.
13.
Psychology. a description of behavioral and personality traits of a person compared with accepted norms or standards.
14.
Theater. a flat stage property or scenic piece cut from a firm, thin material, as of beaverboard or plywood, and having an irregular edge resembling the silhouette of a natural object.
15.
(in a gear) the outline of either end of a tooth.
16.
Naval Architecture. a longitudinal elevation or section of a vessel.
Compare outboard profile.
verb (used with object), profiled, profiling.
17.
to draw a profile of.
18.
to produce or present a history, description, or analysis of:
The magazine will profile the candidate in its next issue.
noun
1.
a side view, outline, or representation of an object, esp of a human face or head
2.
a view or representation of an object, esp a building, in contour or outline
3.
a short biographical sketch of a subject
4.
a graph, table, or list of scores representing the extent to which a person, field, or object exhibits various tested characteristics or tendencies: a population profile
5.
a vertical section of soil from the ground surface to the parent rock showing the different horizons
6.

a vertical section of part of the earth’s crust showing the layers of rock
a representation of such a section

7.
the outline of the shape of a river valley either from source to mouth (long profile) or at right angles to the flow of the river (cross profile)
verb (transitive)
8.
to draw, write, or make a profile of
9.
to cut out a shape from a blank (as of steel) with a cutter

profile pro·file (prō’fīl’)
n.

A side view of an object or a structure, especially of the human head.

A formal summary or analysis of data, often in the form of a graph or table, representing distinctive features or characteristics.

profile

Simple language for matching and scoring data. “User’s Manual for the PROFILE System”, Cambridge Computer Assoc (May 1974).
[Jargon File]

1. A control file for a program, especially a text file automatically read from each user’s home directory and intended to be easily modified by the user in order to customise the program’s behaviour. Used to avoid hard-coded choices (see also dot file, rc file).
2. A report on the amounts of time spent in each routine of a program, used to find and tune away the hot spots in it. This sense is often verbed. Some profiling modes report units other than time (such as call counts) and/or report at granularities other than per-routine, but the idea is similar.
see: keep a low profile