code name

noun

: a designation having a coded and usually secret meaning
code-name transitive verb

Examples of code name in a Sentence

Every secret agent has a code name.
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.
The unconfirmed lore behind the holiday is that a group of California teens in the 70s would regularly meet up to smoke at 4:20 pm and their use of the time stamp as a code name took off. Jeanie Pyun, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025 What to Know Crossfire Hurricane was the code name for the FBI's investigation into whether the Trump campaign worked with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025 Believe it or not, the film's director James Hawes insists Bernthal's secret agent code name was not an intentional call-out to his current run as the late, troubled, elder Berzatto brother Mikey on TV. Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 9 Apr. 2025 Hill, whose code name was Dazzle, was given the highest civilian honor for bravery awarded by the U.S. Treasury Department, which the Secret Service was then a part of. Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for code name

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of code name was in 1867

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Cite this Entry

“Code name.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/code%20name. Accessed 9 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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