decode

[ dee-kohd ]

See synonyms for decode on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),de·cod·ed, de·cod·ing.

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),de·cod·ed, de·cod·ing.

to work at decoding.

Origin of decode

First recorded in 1895–1900; de- + code

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use decode in a sentence

As soon as we have decoded its significance, we will let you know.
Pope's Gift To Prince George | Tom Sykes | April 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
By the time the Army decoded the first Venona cable, the flaw had been corrected and KGB communications rendered impenetrable.
Soviet-Era Secret Leakers Were Way Worse Than Snowden | Steve Usdin | August 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The rapper's autobiography, Decoded, hits stores Tuesday, but you have no idea who this Jay-Z character is.
A Baby Boomer's Guide to Jay-Z | Peter Lauria | November 14, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
When Curlie had decoded the jumbled message he needed only to signal back an answering O. K.
On the Yukon Trail | Roy J. Snell
She found herself wishing for a moment that she had never decoded the message.
The White Moll | Frank L. Packard

The operation of this display is similar to that of the 16 inch, except that 12 bits are decoded for each axis.
Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) | Digital Equipment Corporation
The decoded message turned out not to be as bad as I had imagined.
The Misplaced Battleship | Harry Harrison (AKA Henry Maxwell Dempsey)
Dawson read the decoded message through twice, and then looked quietly at Freddy Farmer.
Dave Dawson on the Russian Front | R. Sidney Bowen

British Dictionary definitions for decode

decode

/ (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 (def. 2)

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

Derived forms of decode

decoder, noun

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

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