encode

American  

[en-kohd] / ɛnˈkoʊd /

verb (used with object)

encodes, present (3rd person singular) encoded, past participle, past encoding present participle

1. to convert (a message, information, etc.) into code.

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encode British  

/ ɪnˈkəʊd /

verb

1. to convert (a message) from plain text into code

2. computing to convert (characters and symbols) into a digital form as a series of impulses Compare decode

3. to convert (an electrical signal) into a form suitable for transmission

4. to convert (a nerve signal) into a form that can be received by the brain

5. to use (a word, phrase, etc, esp of a foreign language) in the construction appropriate to it in that language

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encode Scientific  

/ ĕn-kōd′ /

1. To specify the genetic code for the synthesis of a protein molecule or a part of a protein molecule.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• encodement
  noun
• encoder
  noun
• encodable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• encoding
  present
• encoded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• encode
  simple
• encodes
  simple
• have encoded
  perfect
• has encoded
  perfect
• am encoding
  progressive
• are encoding
  progressive
• is encoding
  progressive
• have been encoding
  perfect progressive
• has been encoding
  perfect progressive

Past

• encoded
  simple
• had encoded
  perfect
• was encoding
  progressive
• were encoding
  progressive
• had been encoding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will encode
  simple
• will have encoded
  perfect
• will be encoding
  progressive
• will have been encoding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of encode

First recorded in 1930–35; en- ¹ + code

Explanation

To encode something is to put it into a coded form. During World War II, countries would encode messages so that if they were intercepted, their enemies couldn't understand them. There are various reasons why information might need to be written in code: spies and secret agents need to encode messages so that only people who know the code can decipher their meanings. Computer languages are also thought of as codes, and when you convert information into one of these languages, you also encode it — although this modern meaning is usually shortened to the verb code.

Example Sentences

The Oxford group's findings don't contradict those of ENCODE, he says, because the project never estimated the proportion of the genome that would be conserved through natural selection.

From Nature • Aug. 5, 2014

In short, proponents of intelligent design—a branch of creationism that uses scientific language but not scientific ideas or standards of evidence—strongly backed ENCODE.

From Slate • Oct. 3, 2013

Thanks to ENCODE, though, we should eventually learn which sequences are the junk and which are the gems of cell activity.

From Scientific American • Dec. 20, 2012

That, according to Dr Hubbard, is the thrilling frontier for labs like those that worked on ENCODE.

From Economist • Sep. 5, 2012

"It's like Google Maps for the human genome," says Elise Feingold, a program director for the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, which funded ENCODE.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 5, 2012