encryption

noun

en·​cryp·​tion in-ˈkrip-shən 

en-

plural encryptions

1

: the act or process of encrypting something : a conversion of something (such as data) into a code or cipher

The regulations … make it harder to provide automatic encryption of information as it passes through the dozens of links in a typical Internet connection …

—Paul Wallich

… a hacker slips into a system, then puts encryption controls in place that locks users out.

—Elizabeth Millard

2

: a code or cipher produced by encrypting something

Artificial intelligence can decode encryptions that previously could not be cracked.

—Ana Swanson

Examples of encryption in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These tools are all possible because there is currently no full encryption or protection on the Recall database. —Tom Warren, The Verge, 7 June 2024

What the lawsuit fails to recognize is that many users appreciate the end-to-end encryption and security of iMessage. —Christopher Mohr, Orange County Register, 4 June 2024

That encryption needs to withstand attacks from codebreakers with their own computers, so modern encryption methods rely on assumptions about what mathematical problems are hard for computers to solve. —Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 3 June 2024

Our Editors' Choice winners for encryption do more: AxCrypt Premium encrypts your files with ease and handles secure sharing, while Folder Lock covers just about all modes of encryption. —PCMAG, 21 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined at sense 1