decode
Americanverb (used with object)
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to translate (data or a message) from a code into the original language or form.
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to extract meaning from (spoken or written symbols).
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Television. to unscramble (an electronic signal) so as to provide a video picture for cable subscribers.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to convert (a message, text, etc) from code into ordinary language
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computing to convert (coded characters) from one form to another, as from binary-coded decimals to decimal numbers Compare encode
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electronics to convert (a coded electrical signal) into normal analogue components
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to analyse and understand the construction of words and phrases, esp in a foreign language
Other Word Forms
- decoder noun
Etymology
Origin of decode
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To read the data requires a special microscope that can see each layer, then decode the information using an algorithm powered by artificial intelligence.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
Then a receiver at someone’s home, like an antenna, would pick up that signal and a cable box would decode it: a method known as multicast.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026
Tolias's extensive experience training AI systems on large-scale neural recordings, including those collected with BISC, helped the team analyze how well the implant could decode brain activity.
From Science Daily • Dec. 9, 2025
When someone cares, you don’t have to decode it.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2025
Lolo can’t decode the message, so finally I just read it aloud.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
