cryptography
noun
cryp·tog·ra·phy
krip-ˈtä-grə-fē 
1
: secret writing
2
: the enciphering and deciphering of messages in secret code or cipher
also
: the computerized encoding and decoding of information
3
Did you know?
For a word having to do with secrets, cryptography has a surprisingly transparent origin. The word comes from Greek kryptós, meaning "hidden" or "secret," and graphein, meaning "to write." Besides the familiar related words of the same origin, such as cryptic, there is krypton, the name of a colorless gaseous element used especially in some fluorescent lamps and photography flashes. The name was chosen because the gas is rare and hard to find.
Examples of cryptography in a Sentence
Companies often use cryptography to protect private information.
Recent Examples on the Web
With advances in commercial-grade quantum technologies accelerating, enterprise security leaders can no longer afford to treat post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as a long-term problem.
—
Dino Dimarino, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
The proof could open new doors for quantum computing and cryptography research.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
This is because current encryption methods such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography depend on mathematical problems that are very hard to reverse — unless a powerful quantum computer is involved.
—Robert Kramer, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Ultimately, cryptography engineer Sophie Schmieg said, the benefit of the mitigations isn't worth the performance costs to GPU performance, where predicting instruction branches is more critical than for CPU performance.
—ArsTechnica, 25 June 2025
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Dino Dimarino, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
The proof could open new doors for quantum computing and cryptography research.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
This is because current encryption methods such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography depend on mathematical problems that are very hard to reverse — unless a powerful quantum computer is involved.
—Robert Kramer, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Ultimately, cryptography engineer Sophie Schmieg said, the benefit of the mitigations isn't worth the performance costs to GPU performance, where predicting instruction branches is more critical than for CPU performance.
—ArsTechnica, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cryptography
Cite this Entry
“Cryptography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptography. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cryptography
noun
cryp·tog·ra·phy
krip-ˈtäg-rə-fē
: the coding and decoding of secret messages or digital information
cryptographer
noun
-fər
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