fingerprint

The definition of a fingerprint is the mark made on the surface of something by the curves and indentations of the finger tips.

Types of Fingerprints

Latent - When a person touches some sort of object, some of the moisture from their hand is deposited onto that object.
Plastic - If an individual touches materials such as clay, tar, or paint, their fingerprints will be retained in these substances.
Patent - The person gets oil, blood, paint, and so forth on his or her hands. Once the hands touch some other sort of material, the fingerprint is translated onto that material.

(noun)

An example of a fingerprint is the mark left on a glass used by someone after they have eaten greasy french fries.

Fingerprint is defined as to capture an impression of the marks left by the raised curves of a person's finger tips.

(verb)

An example of fingerprint is someone being arrested and having ink put on their finger tips and then pressed onto paper.

See fingerprint in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

an impression of the lines and whorls on the inner surface of the end joint of the finger, used as by the police in the identification of a person
any characteristic or set of characteristics that distinguishes or unambiguously identifies a person or thing; signature

transitive verb

to take the fingerprints of

See fingerprint in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

An impression on a surface of the curves formed by the ridges on a fingertip, especially such an impression made in ink and used as a means of identification.
A distinctive or identifying mark or characteristic: “the invisible fingerprint that's used on labels and packaging to sort out genuine products from counterfeits” (Gene G. Marcial).
a. A DNA fingerprint.
b. A chemical fingerprint.

transitive verb fin·ger·print·ed, fin·ger·print·ing, fin·ger·prints