encode

[en-kohd]

See more synonyms for encode on Thesaurus.com

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

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

Origin of encode

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

Related formsen·cod·a·ble, adjectiveen·code·ment, nounen·cod·er, nounmis·en·code, verb (used with object), mis·en·cod·ed, mis·en·cod·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for encoding

conceal, cipher, cryptograph

Examples from the Web for encoding

Contemporary Examples of encoding

There is, after all, something hopeful about a future that was smart about encoding our civil liberties.
It’s Time to Rewrite the Internet to Give Us Better Privacy, and Security
Lawrence Lessig
June 12, 2013
Negative encoding, from an advertiser's perspective, is still better than no encoding at all.
Facebook Knows Too Much
Ilana Glazer
February 15, 2013
“They were nice people,” said Dennis Scarna, an encoding engineer who took a job at the company in 1999.
Jennifer Sultan’s Arrest for Gun Running Caps Long Fall From Internet Success
Matthew DeLuca
July 20, 2012

Historical Examples of encoding

Literacy only indirectly reflects the encoding of experience in a medium of expression and communication.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin
Leibniz tried hard to make this language utilizable in all domains of human activity, in encoding laws, scientific results, music.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin
Encoding hierarchy, some languages place women in a secondary position.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin

British Dictionary definitions for encoding

encode

verb (tr)

to convert (a message) from plain text into code
computing to convert (characters and symbols) into a digital form as a series of impulsesCompare decode (def. 2)
to convert (an electrical signal) into a form suitable for transmission
to convert (a nerve signal) into a form that can be received by the brain
to use (a word, phrase, etc, esp of a foreign language) in the construction appropriate to it in that language

Derived Formsencodement, nounencoder, 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

Word Origin and History for encoding

encode

1919, from en- (1) "make, put in" + code. Computing sense is from 1955, usually shortened colloquially to code. Related: Encoded; encoding.

encoding in Medicine

encoding

[ĕn-kō′dĭng]

The first of three stages in the memory process, involving processes associated with receiving or registering stimuli through one or more of the senses and modifying that information.

encoding in Science

encode

[ĕn-kōd′]

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