encrypt

[ en-kript ]

/ ɛnˈkrɪpt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR encrypt ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

Nearby words

encroach, encroachment, encrust, encrustation, encrusted, encrypt, encryption, enculturate, enculturation, encumber, encumbrance

Origin of encrypt

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

Related forms

en·cryp·tion, en·cryp·ta·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for encrypt

That refers to software that can encrypt chat communications, emails, and more.
How to Keep the NSA at Bay: The Tricks From Privacy Experts|Winston Ross|June 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
There are often steps taken by hackers to use sophisticated mathematical formulas to encrypt their communications.
Did Iran’s Cyber-Army Hack Into the IAEA’s computers?|Eli Lake|December 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
If the government really wants to stop WikiLeaks, it can encrypt its cables.
How the State Department Can Stop the Next WikiLeaks|James C. Goodale|December 1, 2010|DAILY BEAST
So instead of just encrypting the message with your private key, you also encrypt it with your boss's public key.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow

You'd encrypt the message with your private key and my public key.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for encrypt

encrypt

/ (ɪnˈkrɪpt) /

verb (tr)

to put (a message) into code

to put (computer data) into a coded form

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

Derived Forms

encrypted, adjectiveencryption, noun

Word Origin for encrypt

C20: from en- 1 + crypt, as in crypto-

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

Science definitions for encrypt

encrypt

[ ĕn-krĭpt ]

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