encryption

American  

[en-krip-shuhn] / ɛnˈkrɪp ʃən /

noun

encryptions plural

1. the act or practice of converting messages into cipher or code.

   During World War II, the encryption process involved code tables and a machine.

2. Computers. the act or practice of changing digital data into a form that cannot be read without converting it back using a unique key.

   Though its data encryption is strong, the app has other security flaws exploited by hackers.

---

encryption Cultural  

1. The process of encoding a message so that it can be read only by the sender and the intended recipient. Encryption systems often use two keys, a public key, available to anyone, and a private key that allows only the recipient to decode the message. (See also cryptography.)

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• encryptions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of encryption

First recorded in 1940–45; 1960–65 encryption for def. 2; encrypt ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Explanation

Encryption is the process of translating something into a code, so that data is protected, hidden, or concealed. Encryption makes it difficult for hackers to steal people's credit card numbers. If there's information worth stealing, encryption is used to protect it — especially when it comes to computer or electronic data that holds financial, private, or dangerous material. Governments use encryption to hide classified information, and banks use it to protect their customers' money and other data. Crypt- has been used to mean "secret or hidden" since the 1700s, and it comes from a Greek root, kryptos, "hidden or concealed."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

encryption encryptions

Investors have pointed to a number of issues driving the selloff, including the fear that quantum computing could eventually threaten the encryption that helps keep bitcoin secure.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

The questions worth asking early aren’t only about encryption and data minimization.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption so cannot proactively review images that people send.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

Beyond a race for economic dominance, the real urgency is the impending threat to cybersecurity, as mature quantum systems will likely undermine the encryption that protects much of the world’s data today.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

To keep your messages secure, you encrypted them first, then sent the encryption in Morse.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

The way quantum computers are designed has advantages for solving near-impossible encryptions, Kulkarni said, which both excites and scares people in the industry and is leading to more interest in the area of post-quantum cryptography.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2025

If a communication system must be used to transmit top-secret information, it must be one of those developed by the government using highly secure encryptions developed especially for that purpose.

From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2025

Quantum computers threaten existing algorithm-based encryptions, which currently secure data transfers against eavesdropping and surveillance.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2024

They used statistics to figure out what kinds of encryptions they were dealing with.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 12, 2023

William, who had endless energy, did most of the encryptions.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield