public-key

noun

pub·​lic-key ˈpə-blik-ˈkē 

often attributive

: a cryptographic element that is the publicly shared half of an encryption code and that can be used only to encode messages

Examples of public-key in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While organizations begin migration, adversaries aren’t waiting for Q-Day, which is when quantum computers will be able to break current public-key encryption. —Mehran Farimani, Forbes.com, 21 May 2026

Here’s one example why: Modern finance—our entire economic system, really—relies on public-key cryptosystems that are essentially unbreakable. —David M. Ewalt, Scientific American, 19 May 2026

Rodriguez points to advances in domain name system security extensions (DNSSEC), which uses digital signatures based on public-key cryptography to strengthen the authentication of the domain name system. —IEEE Spectrum, 6 May 2026

Google is dramatically shortening its readiness deadline for the arrival of Q Day, the point at which existing quantum computers can break public-key cryptography algorithms that secure decades’ worth of secrets belonging to militaries, banks, governments, and nearly every individual on earth. —Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above