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

Those same records concentrate sensitive information, including the data the agent touched, so the transcript store itself becomes a high-value target that needs its own access controls and encryption. — Tyler Akidau, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Enterprise security Wallet uses bank-level encryption and two-factor authentication to protect customers and their data. — Catherine Collins, USA Today, 26 July 2026

The lawsuit, filed in January, originally claimed that unnamed whistleblowers had uncovered WhatsApp’s ability to circumvent the encryption. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 July 2026

Security features PocketGuard utilizes bank-level encryption, PINs and biometrics like Touch ID and Face ID. — Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 21 July 2026

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