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

Hundreds of companies, frequently unaware of the workings of satellite communications systems, were sending their data via those satellites without end-to-end encryption, which is a standard in today's secure internet communication. —Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2025

Those services might include providing an easy way for nonprofits to raise funds, conduct online events and access clear records on donations; as well as provide the best encryption to protect donors’ data. —Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025

The service also utilizes post-quantum encryption for enhanced protection and complies with stringent GDPR standards. —PC Magazine, 8 Nov. 2025

His early contributions included work on market-leading data protection products used by Fortune 500 companies (including PGP, a pioneering company in encryption technologies) that safeguarded some of the world’s largest enterprises against accidental and directly malicious data loss. —Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for encryption

• ascription
• conscription
• decryption
• description
• egyptian
• inscription
• prescription
• proscription
• subscription
• transcription
• circumscription
• misdescription