cipher

noun, often attributive

ci·pher | \ ˈsī-fər

Definition of cipher

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : zero sense 1a

b : one that has no weight, worth, or influence : nonentity It was an odd fact that the financier, a cipher in his own home, could impress all sorts of people at the office.— P. G. Wodehouse Why did the family, I wondered, act as if Rita hardly existed? Was she that much of a cipher?— Andrew M. Greeley

2a : a method of transforming a text in order to conceal its meaning secret communications written in cipher — compare code sense 3b

b : a message in code The cipher cannot be decoded without the key.

3 : arabic numeral

4 : a combination of symbolic letters especially : the interwoven initials of a name coins that bore the cipher of the sultan

cipher

verb

ciphered; ciphering\ ˈsī-f(ə-)riŋ

Definition of cipher (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to use figures in a mathematical process all children should learn to read, write, and cipher— M. Pattison

transitive verb

1 : encipher ciphered the letters that passed between the two heads of state

2 : to compute arithmetically ciphered out the sum in his head

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about cipher

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Examples of cipher in a Sentence

Noun

a cipher that can't be decoded She was nothing more than a cipher.

Verb

were surprised by how much we had spent on the cruise after we had ciphered out the grand total

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The [Brexit] deal is almost a cipher for a completely different debate. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "Why Brexit is tearing the United Kingdom apart," 27 Nov. 2018 The attributes of innocence and guilt cancel each other out, making Jodi something of a cipher. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: The Intimate Horrors of Human Nature," 3 Jan. 2019 However, a different version of the couple's joint cipher appeared on their wedding cake in 2011, where the C and W were overlaid. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "How Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Monogram Compares to Kate Middleton and Prince William's," 31 July 2018 The process is supposed to take multiple days given the rate at which the game doles out new letters for the nuclear codes, in addition to having to break a cipher just to put it all into use. — Patricia Hernandez, The Verge, "Fallout 76’s first end-game nuke launches, starts apocalyptic battle," 15 Nov. 2018 In former MI5 Assistant Director Peter Wright's book Spycatcher, Wright recounted how British intelligence used a phone tap to record audio from an Egyptian embassy's cipher machine during the Suez Crisis. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "Researchers find way to spy on remote screens—through the webcam mic," 28 Aug. 2018 And the show has been (lightly) criticized for turning Budd in to something of a cipher. — Chloe Schama, Vogue, "Bodyguard Is the Best Political Thriller Since Homeland," 24 Oct. 2018 The joint logo certainly looks curlier and more ornate than the Duke and Duchess' individual ciphers. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "How Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Monogram Compares to Kate Middleton and Prince William's," 31 July 2018 On the other hand, them being ciphers is kind of the point. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "Is Westworld moving forward or going in circles?," 18 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

These remnants, signals from an earlier phase of our human condition, have been endlessly ciphered by generations of archaeologists in the Bears Ears region (which is named for twin buttes near its center). — Stephen Nash, New York Times, "At Bears Ears in Utah, Heated Politics and Precious Ruins," 25 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cipher.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.