1. The distinctive pattern of lines on a human fingertip (no two fingerprints are identical). [Cases: Criminal Law 475. 5.]
2. The impression of a fingertip made on any surface (the detective found several fingerprints on the knife).
3. An ink impression of the pattern of lines on a fingertip, usu. taken during the booking procedure after an arrest (after Dick had his fingerprints taken, he was put in the drunk tank). — Also termed print; thumbprint. Cf. DNA IDENTIFICATION. — fingerprint, vb. — fingerprinting, n.
