decoder

[ dee-koh-der ]

noun

1. a person who decodes messages or the like.
2. a device for decoding cryptograms, codes, or the like, as an electric or electronic apparatus that transforms arbitrary input signals into letters, words, etc.
3. Navigation. an electronic circuit designed to respond only to certain signals and to reject others.
4. Computers. a circuit designed to produce a single output when actuated by a certain combination of inputs.
5. Television. a box attached to a television set containing circuitry to unscramble encoded signals, as cable-television programs or closed captions, so that the signals can be displayed on the screen.

decoder

/ dē-kō′dər /

1. An electronic or software device that converts telecommunication signals from their transmitted form into a form interpretable to other devices or to human beings.

Word History and Origins

Origin of decoder¹

First recorded in 1915–20; decode + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The electrodes gather data by measuring electrical signals from the brain, and the decoder interprets that information and translates it into game action.

From Science Daily

A precursor to cable, the service used a technology called Phonevision to deliver first-run movies and live sporting events through phone lines and a decoder installed in the home.

From Los Angeles Times

The decoder was not only capturing the gist of the original, but also producing exact matches of specific words — twenty, license.

From Salon

The decoder telling him to be sure to drink his Ovaltine.

From New York Times

Accuracy dropped, though, as the decoder parsed out sounds in the middle or at the end of a nonsense word.

From Science Daily

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