decode

American  

[dee-kohd] / diˈkoʊd /

verb (used with object)

decoded, decoding

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)

decoded, decoding

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

• decoder noun

Etymology

Origin of decode

First recorded in 1895–1900; de- + code

Example Sentences

There was a look in her eyes— dark, sharp, set under papery wrinkled lids—that Christopher could not begin to decode.

From Literature

“Exactly. Thank you for understanding. I was so intent on decoding Willa’s mission that I underestimated Fleetwood’s ability to move quickly, and now he’s here, and—” My voice cracks with emotion.

From Literature

The TV guide helpfully decoded what I was watching: a film called “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains,” and it was showing on Night Flight.

From Salon

"It's easier to have a spatial mapping of what you're trying to decode compared to the lower limbs."

From Science Daily

It abandoned the hokum that convinced educators that they could teach kids to read through pictures and context clues rather than decoding words.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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