encrypt

American  

[en-kript] / ɛnˈkrɪpt /

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.

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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

• encryptation noun
• encrypted adjective
• encryption noun

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

A proxy server typically does not encrypt your connection.

From Salon • Nov. 26, 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

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

From BBC • Jan. 26, 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

Related Words

• encipher