encode

American  

[en-kohd] / ɛnˈkoʊd /

verb (used with object)

encoded, encoding

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

• encodable
  adjective
• encodement
  noun
• encoder
  noun
• misencode
  verb (used with object)

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

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

“We are now, thanks to ENCODE, able to attack much more complex diseases,” Kellis says.

From Nature • Sep. 5, 2012

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

From Economist • Sep. 5, 2012

For his study of cancer and epigenetics, "ENCODE data were fundamental," says Mathieu Lupien, a molecular biologist from the University of Toronto in Canada who was not associated with ENCODE.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 5, 2012