cypher

American  

[sahy-fer] / ˈsaɪ fər /

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.

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cypher British  

/ ˈsaɪfə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of cipher

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Etymology

Origin of cypher

First recorded in 1995–2000

Explanation

A cypher is a message written in a secret code. Spies during World War II sometimes communicated using cyphers. If you use a cypher to send your friend a message, it may take her a while to figure out what you're trying to tell her. Some cyphers substitute numbers or symbols for letters, and you need a key to decipher — or interpret — them. Another kind of cypher is an unimportant person who's blank or devoid of personality — you might call a lifeless character in a book a cypher. The word has an Arabic root, sifr, "zero, empty, or nothing."

Example Sentences

King Charles's uniform still has the cypher of his mother Elizabeth II.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2025

At the BET Hip-Hop Awards cypher, a gathering of rap artists exchanging lyrics competitively, Lamar refuted Drake's previous assertions of friendships.

From Salon • May 7, 2024

Camilla's doll-sized book was bound in the Royal Bindery and features a gold-tooled 7mm-tall version of her cypher.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2024

But repeat viewings of “The Zone of Interest,” which was awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes, reveal the precision Friedel brings to the role of a prideful cypher defined by his social standing.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2023

She knew her mathematics to the Rule of Three, but whether she could cypher into fractions, I had no idea.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck