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

Researchers have defined a new material blueprint for the next-generation microchip encryption. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026

Files are end-to-end encrypted on your device before they’re uploaded using zero-knowledge encryption, which means Internxt can’t read, access, or share their contents. — Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026

Security Accounting software contains sensitive financial information, so only consider a platform with strong security measures like encryption, secure bank connections, authentication and automatic data backups. — Carson Brunson, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026

Live Rewind transcripts and Siri Recaps use end-to-end encryption when syncing through iCloud. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 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