nonce

American  

[nons] / nɒns /

noun

1. the present, or immediate, occasion or purpose (usually used in the phrasefor the nonce ).

2. Computers. a randomly or automatically generated and often timestamped number intended for a single use in a communication: used especially in authentication and security protocols.

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adjective

1. (of a word or phrase) coined and used only for a particular occasion.

   nonce forms such as “paintrix,” meaning “a female painter.”

nonce ¹ British  

/ nɒns /

noun

1. the present time or occasion (now only in the phrase for the nonce )

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nonce ² British  

/ nɒns /

noun

1. slang:prison a rapist or child molester; a sexual offender

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Etymology

Origin of nonce

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English nones, in the phrase for the nones, by faulty division of for then ones “for the once” ( Middle English then, dative singular of the ¹ ; ones once )

Example Sentences

When a mining node wants to create a block, it would take all the data in the block, plus a special number called a nonce, and run it through the hashing algorithm.

From The Verge • Sep. 9, 2021

If the hash doesn’t start out as “aaaaa,” it would increase the nonce by one, and start again.

From The Verge • Sep. 9, 2021

A lapse into depression, for the nonce, was averted.

From Salon • Jun. 30, 2010

For the nonce, the six ruggedly individualistic canners had got together to fight the ban.

From Time Magazine Archive

He would need to bum them eventually, no doubt, but for the nonce they were bound with iron chains inside their cells.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• now
• today