code word

American  

noun

1. code name.

2. a euphemistic or politically acceptable catchword or phrase used instead of a blunter or less acceptable term.

   The official report said the diplomats had a “frank and serious discussion”—code words for “angry argument.”

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Etymology

Origin of code word

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

In the age of deepfakes, every family needs a code word, writes Julie Jargon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

There’s a simple solution to this high-tech problem: a code word.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 1, 2025

North wants to remind parents and teachers that every generation has their secret code word.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2025

A “clean CR”—a little code word they use for these kinds of bills—is one sentence.

From Slate • Mar. 18, 2025

I’d rather go to a machine which knows me by some code word but on whose operating programs a team of software writers has painstakingly worked for months.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos