Synonyms

decode

American

[dee-kohd] / diˈkoʊd /

verb (used with object)

decoded, decoding

to translate (data or a message) from a code into the original language or form.
to extract meaning from (spoken or written symbols).
Television. to unscramble (an electronic signal) so as to provide a video picture for cable subscribers.

verb (used without object)

decoded, decoding

to work at decoding.

decode British

/ diːˈkəʊd /

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
electronics to convert (a coded electrical signal) into normal analogue components
to analyse and understand the construction of words and phrases, esp in a foreign language

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

decoder noun

Etymology

Origin of decode

First recorded in 1895–1900; de- + code

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.

Scientists have spent years decoding the honey bee "waggle dance," a highly sophisticated form of communication.

From Science Daily

CPUs can excel in this kind of sequential computing, but what you’d really like to have are purpose-built chips that can handle decode cheaply and efficiently, without, for example, the need for pricey off-chip memory.

From Barron's

AI inference computing is divided into two main tasks: pre-fill, or the process by which a model interprets a user prompt, and decode, by which the model generates a response, one word at a time.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the journal Nature, Microsoft's research arm said Silica was the first glass storage technology that had been demonstrated to be reliable for writing, reading and decoding data.

From Barron's

Funded by the Buckinghamshire-based ME Association and carried out at Imperial College London, the Rosetta Stone study hopes to look for biomarkers and "decode the immunological profile" of both conditions.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023