encode

American  

[en-kohd] / ɛnˈkoʊd /

verb (used with object)

• encodes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• encoded,
  past participle,  past
• encoding
  present participle

1. to convert (a message, information, etc.) into code.

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encode British  

/ ɪnˈkəʊd /

verb

1. to convert (a message) from plain text into code

2. computing to convert (characters and symbols) into a digital form as a series of impulses Compare decode

3. to convert (an electrical signal) into a form suitable for transmission

4. to convert (a nerve signal) into a form that can be received by the brain

5. to use (a word, phrase, etc, esp of a foreign language) in the construction appropriate to it in that language

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encode Scientific  

/ ĕn-kōd′ /

1. To specify the genetic code for the synthesis of a protein molecule or a part of a protein molecule.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• encodement
  noun
• encoder
  noun
• misencode
  verb (used with object)
• encodable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• encoding
  present
• encoded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• encode
  simple
• encodes
  simple
• have encoded
  perfect
• has encoded
  perfect
• am encoding
  progressive
• are encoding
  progressive
• is encoding
  progressive
• have been encoding
  perfect progressive
• has been encoding
  perfect progressive

Past

• encoded
  simple
• had encoded
  perfect
• was encoding
  progressive
• were encoding
  progressive
• had been encoding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will encode
  simple
• will have encoded
  perfect
• will be encoding
  progressive
• will have been encoding
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of encode

First recorded in 1930–35; en- ¹ + code

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Explanation

To encode something is to put it into a coded form. During World War II, countries would encode messages so that if they were intercepted, their enemies couldn't understand them. There are various reasons why information might need to be written in code: spies and secret agents need to encode messages so that only people who know the code can decipher their meanings. Computer languages are also thought of as codes, and when you convert information into one of these languages, you also encode it — although this modern meaning is usually shortened to the verb code.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

encode encodes encoded encoding

Instead of functioning as stop signals, TAA and TAG appeared to encode entirely different amino acids.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

"The energy levels predicted by these theories are important because they encode profound information about the theories themselves," Alicea says.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

There are critical differences between artificial and biological neural networks, but both are nonlinear distributed networks that learn to encode representations relevant to their goals and act on them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Some AI companies are now trying to encode human values into their products.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

The “action” of a gene is described in mechanistic terms: genes encode chemical messages to build proteins that ultimately enable form and function.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Most of the viral genome contains instructions for structural proteins, but it also encodes several specialized proteins required for replication.

From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026

Understanding how an animal brain encodes memories and the emotional responses they evoke could lead to better cognitive therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2025

Watson was 25 when he and English biophysicist Francis Crick figured out the double-helix structure of DNA that encodes the essential information for life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

But when the researchers looked at Arhgap36’s genetic sequence in orange cats, they didn’t find any mutations in the DNA that encodes the Arhgap36 protein.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 27, 2024

The fact that the genome also encodes genes to repair damage to the genome was discovered by several geneticists, including Evelyn Witkin and Steve Elledge.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Trauma can affect how memories are encoded and recalled.

From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026

To build the simulation, the researchers encoded a string breaking model into a chain of 13 trapped ions.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

"The significance extends far beyond phages – it suggests that genome language models are beginning to learn the design principles encoded by evolution, opening the door to AI-assisted genome writing."

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

A model can’t be jailbroken into revealing dangerous knowledge if its weights haven’t encoded that knowledge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Rather, what we know is encoded in cells called neurons— microscopic electrochemical switching elements, typically a few hundredths of a millimeter across.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

There are also philosophical challenges: before encoding human values into bots, AI firms have to first choose which values they actually want.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Accordingly, he discerns that much of what passes for “AI alignment” is, in practice, a small number of San Francisco labs encoding their idiosyncratic values into systems that now shape billions of lives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

"By combining light and quantum materials on a chip, we can access new ways of encoding and processing information."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 2, 2026

Jargon, while efficiently encoding this knowledge, adds a safety buffer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

The pullover cost me four sets of wireless code—the full lot of encoding poems, passwords, and frequencies.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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