encrypt
Americanverb (used with object)
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encrypts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
encrypted,
past participle, past
-
encrypting
present participle
-
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.
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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.
verb
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to put (a message) into code
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to put (computer data) into a coded form
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to distort (a television or other signal) so that it cannot be understood without the appropriate decryption equipment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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encryptsimple
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encryptssimple
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have encryptedperfect
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has encryptedperfect
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am encryptingprogressive
-
are encryptingprogressive
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is encryptingprogressive
-
have been encryptingperfect progressive
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has been encryptingperfect progressive
Past
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encryptedsimple
-
had encryptedperfect
-
was encryptingprogressive
-
were encryptingprogressive
-
had been encryptingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing encrypt
The Vocabulary of Soviet-Era Nostalgia & Cold War Spy Words
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This Week In Words: January 18–24, 2020
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Ten Words from The New York Times - Sept. 11, 2013
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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.
See Examples For:
The Smart DNS feature lets you set up streaming on devices that don’t support VPN apps directly, like some smart TVs and gaming consoles, though this doesn’t encrypt your traffic.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2025
The browser-based system uses cryptography to encrypt votes, or keep them secret.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
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
“When the allegations about the NSA vacuuming up all of our information emerged in 2013, we began to encrypt everything online including our websites, chat applications, and phone apps,” Wisniewski told me.
From Slate ● Feb. 16, 2024
“He used a substitution cipher to encrypt his message as a backup, in case you figured out the scytale. Right?” she asked James.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Meta says later this year it will offer a confidential virtual machine that encrypts data so the company can’t access the chats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It also plans to roll out an upgraded security model that encrypts user conversations and data.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Later this year, Meta plans to roll out Muse Confidential VM, an upgraded security model that encrypts all user conversations and data behind a private key inaccessible even to Meta itself.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
Bank A generates and encrypts a Swift payment message containing transfer instructions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
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
Vincer sent the proposal, which was on Nxum letterhead, to Ardoino on the encrypted messaging app Keet in a group chat that included Dennis, according to messages reviewed by the Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Federal prosecutors say an OpenAI engineer concealed an encrypted audio recording device in toilet paper behind a conference-room television.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
“It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,” she allegedly wrote to the donor via the encrypted Signal messaging app.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
And he adds that all recordings captured by the glasses are encrypted, and the firm itself cannot see them - though this also means HTC cannot flag harmful content.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
It also looked like no letter was ever encrypted as itself—that is, an “A” was never an “A.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
A chatbot account connected to Alfozan's spouse also allegedly contained queries related to remote audio recording and encrypting memory cards.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
One common security method involves encrypting data with a massive number known as a public key.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
By masking your IP address and encrypting your traffic, a VPN makes it significantly harder for these entities to track you across different websites.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
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
I emailed her, encrypting the message, waiting for a reply.
From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
