cypher

[ sahy-fer ]

noun

1. Chiefly British. a variant of cipher.
2. Also cipher.
   1. a performance by a group of rappers, hip-hop artists, or break dancers who take turns improvising individual verses, dances, etc:

      The show ended with a freestyle cypher featuring the rappers from the headliner and the two opening acts.

   2. an individual verse, dance, etc., that is part of such a performance:

      She rose to stardom when her cypher that dissed two other male artists went viral.

cypher

/ ˈsaɪfə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of cipher

Word History and Origins

Origin of cypher¹

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

A fellow firearms officer known as DS87 said he would have taken a shot if Mr Blake had not, and another identified by the cypher E156 said he was "fractions of a second" away from doing the same.

From BBC

Mr Khan was exonerated in an illegal marriage case and the cypher case, in which he was accused of divulging state secrets.

From BBC

Across from shops like the Egyptian Bazaar and Venice Massage, 36 b-boys and b-girls competed for the title of champion in the National Final USA Cypher.

From Los Angeles Times

The anthemic carpe diem of 2002’s “Lose Yourself” is one example of many: the exploration of domestic abuse in his duet with Rihanna, 2010’s “Love the Way You Lie”; his anti-Trump cypher at the 2017 BET Awards; his many songs to his daughter Hailie, from 2002’s “Hailie’s Song” to “Temporary,” the track that introduces "The Death of Slim Shady’s" denouement; depression on the single “Beautiful” from 2019’s "Relapse," an album about addiction.

From Salon

He was a cypher coder on HMS Belfast and was granted leave.

From BBC