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
• encrypted
  adjective
• encryption
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have encrypted
  perfect
• has encrypted
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have been encrypting
  perfect progressive
• are encrypting
  progressive
• encrypting
  participle
• is encrypting
  progressive 3rd person singular
• has been encrypting
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• encrypts
  singular 3rd person
• am encrypting
  progressive 1st person singular

Past

• had encrypted
  perfect
• were encrypting
  progressive plural
• had been encrypting
  perfect progressive
• encrypted
  simple
• was encrypting
  progressive singular
• encrypted
  participle

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

Companies may tell you, for example, that they encrypt biometric data, but they may not tell you the details, so there’s no way to tell how strong their safeguards are.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

MediaStreamer is a Smart DNS service that changes your DNS server to stream foreign libraries; it does not encrypt your traffic or change your IP address.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026

The browser-based system uses cryptography to encrypt votes, or keep them secret.

From BBC • Nov. 25, 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

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

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

Related Words

• encipher