encrypt

[ en-kript ]
See synonyms for encrypt on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. 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.

  2. 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.

Origin of encrypt

1
First recorded in 1940–45; en-1 + -crypt (abstracted from cryptic, cryptography, etc.), modeled on encode

Other words from encrypt

  • en·cryp·tion, en·cryp·ta·tion [en-krip-tey-shuhn], /ɛnˌkrɪpˈteɪ ʃən/, noun

Words Nearby encrypt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use encrypt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for encrypt

encrypt

/ (ɪnˈkrɪpt) /


verb(tr)
  1. to put (a message) into code

  2. to put (computer data) into a coded form

  1. to distort (a television or other signal) so that it cannot be understood without the appropriate decryption equipment

Origin of encrypt

1
C20: from en- 1 + crypt, as in crypto-

Derived forms of encrypt

  • encrypted, adjective
  • encryption, noun

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

Scientific definitions for encrypt

encrypt

[ ĕn-krĭpt ]


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

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.