encrypt

verb

en·​crypt in-ˈkript How to pronounce encrypt (audio)
en-
encrypted; encrypting; encrypts

Examples of encrypt in a Sentence

The software will encrypt the message before it is sent.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Discord does not encrypt its private channels, meaning that the company has technical access to users’ conversations and can turn them over to law enforcement if presented with a court order or warrant. Kevin Collier, NBC news, 24 Sep. 2025 LexisNexis doesn’t train its LLMs on our customers’ data and prompts are encrypted. Nino Paoli, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2025 Language’s ability both to reveal and to conceal is at the heart of this engrossing history of medieval encoded and encrypted manuscripts. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025 To prove that the request is coming from an account authorized to be on the network, the client encrypts the timestamp of the request using the hash of its network password. Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for encrypt

Word History

Etymology

en- entry 1 + -crypt (in cryptanalysis, cryptogram), perhaps after decrypt

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of encrypt was in 1944

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Cite this Entry

“Encrypt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encrypt. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

encrypt

verb
en·​crypt
in-ˈkript
: to change (information) from one form to another especially to hide its meaning
encrypt the message
encryption
-ˈkrip-shən
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on encrypt

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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