cipher

[ sahy-fer ]

/ ˈsaɪ fər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR cipher 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. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for cipher

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
But Allen Barra says he remains a cipher for his actions off the field.
Baseball's Greatest Player?|Allen Barra|February 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Near his body is a cipher with the digits of the Fibonacci sequence and amalgams referring to Leonardo da Vinci and his Mona Lisa.
Dan Brown Decoded|The Daily Beast|September 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Any time you had a cipher, you were vulnerable to someone smarter than you coming up with a way of breaking it.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow
Jessie went up to her and showed her Miss Needwood's cipher.
Sowing and Sewing|Charlotte Mary Yonge
He read a diary written chiefly in symbols, and many letters in cipher.
Historical Essays|James Ford Rhodes
In arithmetic they had detected the value of position in the digits, though they missed the grand Indian invention of the cipher.
History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science|John William Draper
Your cipher has not been sent hitherto, because it required a most confidential channel of conveyance.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson

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

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cipher