encrypt

American

[en-kript] / ɛnˈkrɪpt /

verb (used with object)

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.
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 British

/ ɪnˈkrɪpt /

verb

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

"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

encrypt Scientific

/ ĕn-krĭpt /

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

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. )

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.

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

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

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

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023