code name

¹

[kohd neym]

noun

1. a name assigned to conceal the real identity of a person, as a spy, or to conceal the existence or purpose of a plan, military operation, etc.

2. Also called code phrase. a word or phrase assigned a meaning understood only by those who are secretly informed of it.

code-name

²

[kohd-neym]

verb (used with object)

code-named, code-naming 

1. to assign a code name to.

Word History and Origins

Origin of code name¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Origin of code name²

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

In others, they appeared to refer to the woman Summers was attracted to by a code name: “peril.”

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The agency assigned Penkovsky a code name, Hero.

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Southwest began testing new boarding months before assigned seating was announced using the code name Project USA.

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The latter is salient because the name Oracle comes from the code name of a CIA-funded project that Ellison worked on.

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The code name for the massive operation to catch Miller, in the summer and fall of 1984, was “Whipworm,” a reference to an intestinal parasite.

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