encrypt

[en-kript]

verb (used with object)

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.

encrypt

/ 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

encrypt

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

Other Word Forms

• encryption noun
• encryptation noun
• encrypted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of encrypt¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of encrypt¹

C20: from _en- ¹ + crypt, as in _crypto-

Example Sentences

That was the message I received out of the blue from someone called Syndicate who pinged me in July on the encrypted chat app Signal.

From BBC

He then wrote reports using this information, and sent it to Chinese Communist Party intelligence using encrypted software.

From BBC

The Premier League urges fans to use "extreme caution" when using unauthorised sites and is introducing encrypted barcodes for digital ticketing which it says will make touting more difficult.

From BBC

The unidentified nation-state actors were sending encrypted messages to organised crime groups, cartels and terrorist organisations, he added.

From BBC

The Premier League is already introducing new rules for digital ticketing which include the introduction of encrypted barcodes, which they say will make touting more difficult.

From BBC

Related Words

• encipher