cipher

[ sahy-fer ]

/ ˈsaɪ fər /

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See synonyms for: cipher / ciphering on Thesaurus.com

noun

zero.

any of the Arabic numerals or figures.

Arabic numerical notation collectively.

something of no value or importance.

a person of no influence; nonentity.

a secret method of writing, as by transposition or substitution of letters, specially formed symbols, or the like.Compare cryptography.

writing done by such a method; a coded message.

the key to a secret method of writing.

a combination of letters, as the initials of a name, in one design; monogram.

verb (used without object)

to use figures or numerals arithmetically.

to write in or as in cipher.

verb (used with object)

to calculate numerically; figure.

to convert into cipher.

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Also especially British, cy·pher .

Origin of cipher

1350–1400; Middle English siphre<Medieval Latin ciphra<Arabic ṣifr empty, zero; translation of Sanskrit śūnyā empty

OTHER WORDS FROM cipher

ci·pher·a·ble, adjectiveci·pher·er, noun

Words nearby cipher

CIO, -cion, cioppino, CIP, Cipango, cipher, ciphertext, ciphony, cipolin, cippus, Cipro

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cipher in a sentence

So, the curious ciphers and clues in these paintings situate their subjects within a complex web of cultural and political change.
At the Met, beautiful paintings that won’t love you back|Philip Kennicott|June 24, 2021|Washington Post
Most frustrating of all is the show’s saintly cipher of a hero.
Stephen King Adaptation Lisey's Story Is Mawkish, Dull and Too Long by Half|Judy Berman|June 4, 2021|Time
Women who knew the ciphers were not to fall into enemy hands.
Forgotten spies who fought the Nazis in the Middle East|Jonathan Kirsch|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
One night in February 1940, after a fruitless day attacking the cipher, Herivel fell asleep in an armchair in front of his fireplace.
Hackers thrive on the weak link in cybersecurity: People|Gershom Gorenberg|February 1, 2021|Washington Post

The 1877 commission formed to decide the election had subpoenaed copies of over 30,000 telegrams, many of them written in cipher.
Ted Cruz’s proposed election commission can only hurt the country|Stuart MacKay|January 6, 2021|Washington Post
Being something of a political cipher may have helped Revels rise to prominence.
The Black Man Who Replaced Jefferson Davis in the Senate|Philip Dray|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He is a cipher who has reduced his own party to near-cipher status.
Modi Crushes Gandhi in India’s Election Landslide|Tunku Varadarajan|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Scientists profusely apologized when I left the table at which they had their Cipher.
Word Is Bond: An Ex-Con Explains the 5 Percenters|Daniel Genis|April 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But what of all those people watching at home, waiting for Ann to explain the cipher that is Mittens?
Ann Romney: Mitt’s Secret Weapon Sputters|Michelle Cottle|August 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
How else to explain the astounding fact that this cynical cipher is now more or less neck and neck with Obama in the polls?
Blood for Sale? Reagan’s Pagan Cult|Lee Siegel|May 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The figure value of “sew,” therefore equals or is represented by a cipher .
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
A will may be found, or my uncle's marriage proved; in either case, I sink back into the cipher I was before.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
In those old days when I was thrown much with this man, he had shown me a curious cipher and taught me how to use it.
The Mayor's Wife|Anna Katherine Green
So the duke said it was kind of hard to have to lay roped all day, and he'd cipher out some way to get around it.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
He l'arned to read, en when Maizie came, he l'arned to write en cipher after he was a grown man.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney

British Dictionary definitions for cipher

cipher

cypher

/ (ˈsaɪfə) /

noun

a method of secret writing using substitution or transposition of letters according to a key

a secret message

the key to a secret message

an obsolete name for zero (def. 1)

any of the Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, etc, to 9) or the Arabic system of numbering as a whole

a person or thing of no importance; nonentity

a design consisting of interwoven letters; monogram

music a defect in an organ resulting in the continuous sounding of a pipe, the key of which has not been depressed

verb

to put (a message) into secret writing

(intr) (of an organ pipe) to sound without having the appropriate key depressed

rare to perform (a calculation) arithmetically

Word Origin for cipher

C14: from Old French cifre zero, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic sifr zero, empty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

cipher

Origin of cipher

OTHER WORDS FROM cipher

Words nearby cipher

Words related to cipher

How to use cipher in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cipher

cypher

Word Origin for cipher