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cipher - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'cipher' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Cipher [ a.]
- Of the nature of a cipher; of no weight or influence.
2 . Cipher [ n.]
- A character [0] which, standing by itself, expresses nothing, but when placed at the right hand of a whole number, increases its value tenfold.
- One who, or that which, has no weight or influence.
- A character in general, as a figure or letter.
- A combination or interweaving of letters, as the initials of a name; a device; a monogram; as, a painter's cipher, an engraver's cipher, etc. The cut represents the initials N. W.
- A private alphabet, system of characters, or other mode of writing, contrived for the safe transmission of secrets; also, a writing in such characters.
3 . Cipher [ v. i.]
- To use figures in a mathematical process; to do sums in arithmetic.
4 . Cipher [ v. t.]
- To write in occult characters.
- To get by ciphering; as, to cipher out the answer.
- To decipher.
- To designate by characters.

Meaning of 'cipher' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . cipher [ n]
Meaning (1):
- a quantity of no importance
Example in sentence:
  • I didn't hear zilch about it;
  • it looked like nothing I had ever seen before;
  • it was all for naught;
  • reduced to nil all the work we had done;
  • we racked up a pathetic goose egg
2 . cipher [ v]
Meaning (2):
- convert ordinary language into code
Example in sentence:
  • We should encode the message for security reasons

Nearby Words:

ciphered cipherer cipherhood ciphering cipolin cippi cippus

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