decode
Americanverb (used with object)
-
decodes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decoded,
past participle, past
-
decoding
present participle
-
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)
-
decodes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decoded,
past participle, past
-
decoding
present participle
verb
-
to convert (a message, text, etc) from code into ordinary language
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
decodesimple
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decodessimple
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have decodedperfect
-
has decodedperfect
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am decodingprogressive
-
are decodingprogressive
-
is decodingprogressive
-
have been decodingperfect progressive
-
has been decodingperfect progressive
Past
-
decodedsimple
-
had decodedperfect
-
was decodingprogressive
-
were decodingprogressive
-
had been decodingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decode
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.
Vocabulary lists containing decode
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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.
See Examples For:
Financial advisers may want to flaunt what they’ve learned after years of study, leaving clients trying to decode what feels like a new language.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Scientists have discovered a powerful new way to decode the weather on distant worlds, revealing surprisingly organized patterns hidden within the turbulent atmosphere of a mysterious object 20 light-years from Earth.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 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
After Emily and Matthew returned home, she spent over an hour trying to decode the odd little symbols on the flyer with no luck.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Ms. Allen traces pen names, decodes handwriting and deciphers marginalia in Richmond’s correspondence and books.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Prof Ramesh is the principal investigator on Visible Emission Line Coronagraph, or Velc - the most important of the seven scientific instruments on Aditya-L1 - and closely monitors and decodes the data it gathers.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025
“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
This part of the brain, called Wernicke’s area, is the part that “hears” and decodes language.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
Earlier work led by Dr. Wang and Professor Tom Gordon, Head of Immunology at SA Pathology in South Australia, decoded the structure of this PF4 antibody in 2022.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2026
The team also hopes to explore how these decoded signals could be used to activate implanted stimulators in patients recovering from spinal cord injuries.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2026
Yet no one can say they’ve decisively decoded what the show is trying to tell us.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025
"I decoded Morse code and passed it to the next person," she said.
From BBC ● May 3, 2025
The copilot took control of the plane while Tibbets decoded and read the notes.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study found that understanding spoken language requires more than just decoding words.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
In effect, the system replaces a computationally demanding digital decoding network with a physical process that can handle many streams in parallel.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
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
Thanks in part to a young mathematician named Alan Turing, they came up with new ways to tackle Enigma, including much more powerful decoding machines.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
