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. 2024
How to use cipher in a sentence
Mademoiselle Genseigne, who is very clever, is teaching her little pupils cyphering.
Child Life In Town And Country | Anatole FranceBird is described as an "eminent writer" who taught mathematics, which was no more than "cyphering."
Old and New London | Walter ThornburyFrom the glimpse I had of them, I should say that I never saw such sums out of a school cyphering-book.
The Personal History of David Copperfield | Charles DickensI guess you ain't either on you done much cyphering human nature.
Our American Cousin | Tom TaylorMany objections were made that it took the scholar's attention away from "cyphering."
Child Life in Colonial Days | Alice Morse Earle
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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