decode

American  

[dee-kohd] / diˈkoʊd /

verb (used with object)

• decodes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• decoded,
  past participle,  past
• decoding
  present participle

1. to translate (data or a message) from a code into the original language or form.

2. to extract meaning from (spoken or written symbols).

3. Television. to unscramble (an electronic signal) so as to provide a video picture for cable subscribers.

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verb (used without object)

• decodes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• decoded,
  past participle,  past
• decoding
  present participle

1. to work at decoding.

decode British  

/ diːˈkəʊd /

verb

1. to convert (a message, text, etc) from code into ordinary language

2. computing to convert (coded characters) from one form to another, as from binary-coded decimals to decimal numbers Compare encode

3. electronics to convert (a coded electrical signal) into normal analogue components

4. to analyse and understand the construction of words and phrases, esp in a foreign language

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• decoder
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• decoding
  present
• decoded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• decode
  simple
• decodes
  simple
• have decoded
  perfect
• has decoded
  perfect
• am decoding
  progressive
• are decoding
  progressive
• is decoding
  progressive
• have been decoding
  perfect progressive
• has been decoding
  perfect progressive

Past

• decoded
  simple
• had decoded
  perfect
• was decoding
  progressive
• were decoding
  progressive
• had been decoding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will decode
  simple
• will have decoded
  perfect
• will be decoding
  progressive
• will have been decoding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of decode

First recorded in 1895–1900; de- + code

Explanation

When you translate a message from symbols or code into language, you decode it. British code breakers worked during World War II to decode Germany's coded messages. You might need to decode a secret message sent by a spy, but some computer scientists also decode the symbols in computer languages into grammatically correct language. Sometimes older people don't understand the lingo that younger people are using — they might ask a grandchild to help them decode lines in a song, for example. When sound engineers translate between analog and digital signals, they also decode.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decode decodes decoded decoding

You had to decode quickly in order to fit in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Ideally, it’s an ongoing relationship with a doctor who can take the time to decode why, for instance, that pain in your toe might be a warning of a serious heart condition.

From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026

A museum curator helped decode the 1984 train timetable.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

But it might take some time to decode them.

From Salon ● May 10, 2026

The whole fabric of honey bee society depends on communication— on an innate ability to send and receive messages, to encode and decode information.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Ms. Allen traces pen names, decodes handwriting and deciphers marginalia in Richmond’s correspondence and books.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

“Karlyn Borysenko infiltrates their meetings, collects their materials, decodes their language, and exposes their ideas,” reads her description of her Substack.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2025

A stray orange cat; a séance in a hostel; a “nearsighted galoot” who decodes cryptic messages from Radio Pyongyang; flashlights that aren’t just flashlights — these bread crumbs guide us to the novel’s denouement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025

Another, called PerturbSci-Kinetics, developed by graduate student Zihan Xu, decodes the genome-wide regulatory network that underlies RNA temporal dynamics by coupling scalable single-cell genomics with high-throughput genetic perturbations, or manipulations that can influence gene function.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2023

As though the intelligence that decodes life’s hidden patterns—that connects reflections to images, glints to light, weaves to fabrics, needles to thread, walls to rooms, love to fear to anger to remorse—was suddenly lost.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Seales' team decoded surviving portions of a Herculaneum scroll known as PHerc.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

The result is an ode of sorts to elusive bossdom, where the cryptic may remain cryptic, decoded just enough to let us appreciate the achievement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

"We have essentially decoded how the body converts movement into stronger bones," said Professor Xu Aimin.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 27, 2026

Yet no one can say they’ve decisively decoded what the show is trying to tell us.

From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025

“This time, miraculously, I understood. I decoded their speech. I penetrated the words and understood what was happening inside.”

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Enveda said it found the drug by decoding the chemistry released by the body during intense physical activity, identifying a hormone that naturally suppresses appetite.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

If decoding the Leipzig affair and its actual or possible ramifications seems to require an advanced degree in international semiotics, the reported facts are straightforward enough.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026

The company promises Ising will deliver up to three times higher accuracy for the decoding process central to quantum error correction.

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

“I’m all about decoding the rhythms of the music,” she adds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026

In January 1941, Elizebeth and her team started decoding messages from an unlicensed radio station.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

• clear up
• figure out
• interpret
• solve
• translate
• unravel
• unscramble
• untangle