encrypt

American  

[en-kript] / ɛnˈkrɪpt /

verb (used with object)

• encrypts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• encrypted,
  past participle,  past
• encrypting
  present participle

1. to convert (a message or the like) into cipher or code.

   The letter was encrypted before being mailed to protect it from any prying eyes.

2. Computers. to change (digital data) into a form that cannot be read without converting it back using a unique key.

   The protocol encrypts all of your personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, so that it cannot be stolen.

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encrypt British  

/ ɪnˈkrɪpt /

verb

1. to put (a message) into code

2. to put (computer data) into a coded form

3. to distort (a television or other signal) so that it cannot be understood without the appropriate decryption equipment

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encrypt Scientific  

/ ĕn-krĭpt /

1. To alter information using a code or mathematical algorithm so as to be unintelligible to unauthorized readers.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• encryptation
  noun
• encryption
  noun
• encrypted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• encrypting
  present
• encrypted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• encrypt
  simple
• encrypts
  simple
• have encrypted
  perfect
• has encrypted
  perfect
• am encrypting
  progressive
• are encrypting
  progressive
• is encrypting
  progressive
• have been encrypting
  perfect progressive
• has been encrypting
  perfect progressive

Past

• encrypted
  simple
• had encrypted
  perfect
• was encrypting
  progressive
• were encrypting
  progressive
• had been encrypting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will encrypt
  simple
• will have encrypted
  perfect
• will be encrypting
  progressive
• will have been encrypting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of encrypt

First recorded in 1940–45; en- ¹ + -crypt (abstracted from cryptic ( def. ), cryptography ( def. ), etc.), modeled on encode ( def. )

Explanation

To encrypt is to convert regular language into a code. Encrypting is a way of keeping secrets. Encrypting is a way of disguising a written message so that most people won't understand it. Encrypting puts a message into a code that will appear to be gibberish. Only someone who knows the code or is an expert in breaking codes — like a cryptographer — will be able to read something encrypted. People don't encrypt their laundry lists or term papers; communications that get encrypted are top secret info, like government reports and messages from spies.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

encrypt encrypts encrypted encrypting

The technology, which promises to power certain computations that are virtually impossible for today’s computers, could transform everything, including the way companies make medicine, invest money, deliver internet and encrypt information.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2025

Unlike Telegram, which does not automatically encrypt messages in its larger-size chat rooms, Signal limits the size of its group chats and keeps encryption as the default.

From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2025

It follows criticism from government and police after Meta started to encrypt Messenger chats by default.

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2024

Chinese engineers have turned to it to encrypt data.

From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2024

The more steps a cipher had, the more time it took to encrypt.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Bank A generates and encrypts a Swift payment message containing transfer instructions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

A VPN encrypts your connection but doesn’t scan for malware or identify phishing sites.

From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026

While it makes your data more secure, it comes with a downside - it encrypts your data so heavily that it cannot be recovered if you lose access to your account.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2025

"First of all, people underappreciate privacy," says Vytautas Kaziukonis, chief executive at Surfshark, a security software company that encrypts user's online data and aims to make browsing secure.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2025

As you type, Enigma encrypts your message—and the number of ways it can do this is mind-boggling.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

The information is encrypted and transmitted to a secure database that can only be accessed by San Diego police personnel, according to the department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

She added to the informant on an encrypted messaging app that she had "picked up some anarchist literature at the social justice center" which "could have some good tips."

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

"We were surprised that these messages were not encrypted, and that vulnerability was there."

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

In the parking lot, a legal observer helped her download the encrypted messaging app Signal and join her neighborhood rapid-response group.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

But the Coast Guard’s radio network was still up and running, and it continued to intercept encrypted messages on the airwaves.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Quantum computing has the potential to relatively easily break the global and currently used advanced encryption standard, or AES, which involves the same key being used for both encrypting and decrypting data.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2025

Ransomware is a type of malware which prevents someone from accessing a device and the data stored on it, usually by encrypting files, according to the National Cyber Security Centre.

From BBC ● May 9, 2025

But the company is encrypting its messaging platform to compete with other secure services that shield users’ content, essentially turning off the lights for investigators.

From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2024

Because Francis Bacon was very interested in codes — he even came up with his own cipher system for encrypting letters.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 12, 2023

So instead of just encrypting the message with your private key, you also encrypt it with your boss's public key.

From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Related Words

• encipher