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Synonyms

decoder

American  
[dee-koh-der] / diˈkoʊ dər /

noun

  1. a person who decodes messages or the like.

  2. a device for decoding cryptograms, codes, or the like, as an electric or electronic apparatus that transforms arbitrary input signals into letters, words, etc.

  3. Navigation. an electronic circuit designed to respond only to certain signals and to reject others.

  4. Computers. a circuit designed to produce a single output when actuated by a certain combination of inputs.

  5. Television. a box attached to a television set containing circuitry to unscramble encoded signals, as cable-television programs or closed captions, so that the signals can be displayed on the screen.

decoder Scientific  
/ dē-kō′dər /

  1. An electronic or software device that converts telecommunication signals from their transmitted form into a form interpretable to other devices or to human beings.

Etymology

Origin of decoder

First recorded in 1915–20; decode + -er 1

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.

He said that Ising’s two AI models, Ising Calibration and Ising Decoder, tackle major challenges that could otherwise impede the creation of quantum systems.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

The creativity underscores Matlin’s advocacy before Congress, whose passage of the 1990 Television Decoder Circuitry Act mandated closed-captioning technology for televisions sold in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

Plus: If you’d rather listen to a version of this piece in audio, Decoder Ring featured Butler’s reporting on the subversive effort.

From Slate • Dec. 11, 2023

"Decoder" software found sensory information in all areas of the cortex during the awake state but during unconsciousness, less and less information could be found the higher up the cortex the researchers looked.

From Science Daily • Nov. 8, 2023

The story involves something about dinosaur brainwaves and a Dinosaur Decoder Prototype, whatever that is, and a lot of lines like, “We have to find the eggs before it’s too late!”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 13, 2023

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.