Cipher Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Kids Definition of cipher · 1 : zero sense 1 · 2 : a method of secret writing or the alphabet or letters and symbols used in such writing · 3 : a message in code. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut cipher noun,oftenattributive SaveWord ci·​pher |\ˈsī-fər \ Definitionofcipher (Entry1of2) 1a :zerosense1a b :onethathasnoweight,worth,orinfluence:nonentity Itwasanoddfactthatthefinancier,acipherinhisownhome,couldimpressallsortsofpeopleattheoffice.—P.G.WodehouseWhydidthefamily,Iwondered,actasifRitahardlyexisted?Wasshethatmuchofacipher?—AndrewM.Greeley 2a :amethodoftransformingatextinordertoconcealitsmeaning secretcommunicationswrittenincipher —comparecodesense3b b :amessageincode Theciphercannotbedecodedwithoutthekey. 3 :arabicnumeral 4 :acombinationofsymbolicletters especially :theinterwoveninitialsofaname coinsthatborethecipherofthesultan cipher verb ciphered;ciphering\ ˈsī-​f(ə-​)riŋ \ Definitionofcipher (Entry2of2) intransitiveverb :tousefiguresinamathematicalprocess allchildrenshouldlearntoread,write,andcipher—M.Pattison transitiveverb 1 :encipher cipheredthelettersthatpassedbetweenthetwoheadsofstate 2 :tocomputearithmetically cipheredoutthesuminhishead Synonyms MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutcipher Synonymsforcipher Synonyms:Noun aught, gooseegg, naught (alsonought), nil, nothing, o, oh, zero, zilch, zip Synonyms:Verb calculate, compute, figure, reckon, workout VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofcipherinaSentence Noun acipherthatcan'tbedecoded Shewasnothingmorethanacipher. Verb weresurprisedbyhowmuchwehadspentonthecruiseafterwehadcipheredoutthegrandtotal SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun DriverplaysMaurizioasafinance-mindedcipheramidacastofcartoons. — DavidSims,TheAtlantic,23Nov.2021 Justoveradecadelater,Saifal-IslamisnowsomethingofacipherforLibyans. — Reuters,CNN,14Nov.2021 Unlessperhapsthepointwastoexposetheactorascipher. — LosAngelesTimes,12Oct.2021 Evan,whohadbeenasocialcipheratschool,isnoticed. — BillGoodykoontz,DetroitFreePress,24Sep.2021 Asafirst-timecandidate,Youngkinissomethingofpoliticalcipher,withnolegislativeorgoverningrecordtoreflecthisideologicalbeliefs. — WashingtonPost,22June2012 Oneyearago,GlennYoungkinwaswellknownintheworldofhighfinance,butalmostacompletecipherinpolitics. — NewYorkTimes,3Nov.2021 In2020,ateamofcode-breakerscrackeda340-charactercipherthatwassenttotheSanFranciscoChroniclebytheZodiac. — FoxNews,6Oct.2021 Thetextwaswrittenineitheracodethathasnotyetbeencrackedoranaturallanguageandcipherthathaven'tyetbeenidentified. — JustinE.h.Smith,WSJ,25Sep.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Theseremnants,signalsfromanearlierphaseofourhumancondition,havebeenendlesslycipheredbygenerationsofarchaeologistsintheBearsEarsregion(whichisnamedfortwinbuttesnearitscenter). — StephenNash,NewYorkTimes,25July2017 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'cipher.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofcipher Noun 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1aVerb circa1530,inthemeaningdefinedatintransitivesense HistoryandEtymologyforcipher NounandVerb MiddleEnglish,fromMedievalLatincifra,fromArabicṣifrempty,cipher,zero LearnMoreAboutcipher Sharecipher PosttheDefinitionofciphertoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofcipheronTwitter TimeTravelerforcipher Thefirstknownuseofcipherwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearcipher CIP cipher cipherclerk SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforcipher LastUpdated 7Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Cipher.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cipher.Accessed22Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforcipher cipher noun EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofcipher :awayofchangingamessagetokeepitsecret:code :apersonwhohasnopowerorisnotimportant SeethefulldefinitionforcipherintheEnglishLanguageLearnersDictionary cipher noun ci·​pher |\ˈsī-fər \ KidsDefinitionofcipher (Entry1of2) 1 :zerosense1 2 :amethodofsecretwritingorthealphabetorlettersandsymbolsusedinsuchwriting 3 :amessageincode cipher verb ciphered;ciphering KidsDefinitionofcipher (Entry2of2) :tousefiguresindoingaprobleminarithmetic:calculate MorefromMerriam-Websteroncipher Nglish:TranslationofcipherforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofcipherforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutcipher WORDOFTHEDAY benign SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary FarmIdiomsQuiz Whatdoes'poke'refertointheexpression'piginapoke'? bag stateofdifficulty stable mudpit Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? 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