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definitions

encrypt

[ en-kript ]
/ ɛnˈkrɪpt /
|

verb (used with object)

to encipher or encode.

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Nearby words

  1. encroach,
  2. encroachment,
  3. encrust,
  4. encrustation,
  5. encrusted,
  6. encryption,
  7. enculturate,
  8. enculturation,
  9. encumber,
  10. encumbrance

Origin of encrypt

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

British Dictionary definitions for encryption

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 Formsencrypted, 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

Word Origin and History for encryption

encrypt

v.

1975 in computer sense, from en- (1) + crypt (see crypto-). Related: Encrypted; encrypting; encryption.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Science definitions for encryption

encrypt

[ ĕn-krĭpt ]

To alter information using a code or mathematical algorithm so as to be unintelligible to unauthorized readers.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Culture definitions for encryption

encryption

The process of encoding a message so that it can be read only by the sender and the intended recipient. Encryption systems often use two keys, a public key, available to anyone, and a private key that allows only the recipient to decode the message. (See also cryptography.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.