cipher
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.
to use figures or numerals arithmetically.
to write in or as in cipher.
to calculate numerically; figure.
to convert into cipher.
Origin of cipher
1- Also especially British, cy·pher .
Other words from cipher
- ci·pher·a·ble, adjective
- ci·pher·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use cipher in a sentence
He told me of reading, of writing, and of ciphering, and taught me many facts of our world which are known to the learned.
Indirection | Everett B. ColeHis acquirements were already far beyond the simple elements of reading, writing, and ciphering.
A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln | John G. NicolayI had the Unabridged, and I was ciphering around in the back end, hoping I might tree her among the pictures.
Alonzo Fitz and Other Stories | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)He could read and write, it is true, but it was the ciphering under which he broke down, as a surveyor.
The Chainbearer | J. Fenimore CooperI had the Unabridged; and I was ciphering around in the back end, hoping I might tree her among the pictures.
Recitations for the Social Circle | James Clarence Harvey
British Dictionary definitions for cipher
cypher
/ (ˈsaɪfə) /
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
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
Origin of cipher
1Collins 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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