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

Instruct your architects to rebuild authorization systems and payment integrations, as well as secure all encryption protocols and data storage logic. — Ihor Hamal, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

To develop a secure encryption method, cryptographers look for mathematical problems that are easy to solve but difficult to undo. — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026

That means iMessage protects the contents of the conversation with encryption. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026

That is what makes blockchain security different from updating the encryption on a centralized service. — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 15 Aug. 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