cipher

1 of 2

noun

ci·​pher ˈsī-fər How to pronounce cipher (audio)
plural ciphers
1
b
: one that has no weight, worth, or influence : nonentity
It was an odd fact that the financier, a cipher in his own home, could impress all sorts of people at the office.P. G. Wodehouse
Why did the family, I wondered, act as if Rita hardly existed? Was she that much of a cipher?Andrew M. Greeley
2
a
: a method of transforming a text in order to conceal its meaning
secret communications written in cipher
compare code sense 3b
b
: a message in code
The cipher cannot be decoded without the key.
3
4
: a combination of symbolic letters
especially : the interwoven initials of a name
coins that bore the cipher of the sultan
5
often cypher plural cyphers
a
: a circle formed by performers (such as rappers or hip-hop dancers) who take turns improvising in the middle often as part of a competition
Breakers go in a cypher one at a time to dance to the music and can also battle each other.Emmanuel Adelekun
Cyphers have been an important part of rap culture since the beginning of hip-hop …BBC Three
… dancers are caught, lifted, and patted or slapped by the hands of other dancers in the cipher.Stephanie L. Batiste
b
: a hip-hop song that features multiple rappers taking turns delivering verses
The cypher has evolved to become an effective tool to increase fame for up-and-coming artists …Roderick Pullum
"Waterboyz" is a … cipher between … compatriots JID and J. Cole.Mosi Reeves

cipher

2 of 2

verb

ciphered; ciphering ˈsī-f(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce cipher (audio)

intransitive verb

: to use figures in a mathematical process
all children should learn to read, write, and cipherM. Pattison

transitive verb

1
: encipher
ciphered the letters that passed between the two heads of state
2
: to compute arithmetically
ciphered out the sum in his head

Examples of cipher in a Sentence

Noun a cipher that can't be decoded She was nothing more than a cipher. Verb were surprised by how much we had spent on the cruise after we had ciphered out the grand total
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Sofia starts as a character who is a little bit of a cipher. Nick Romano, EW.com, 14 Oct. 2024 And while the series peers into various factors that contributed to Aaron Hernandez’s undoing, the man himself remains a cipher: driven by desires, and pressured by his ascent from poor teen to rich celebrity at warp speed. Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2024
Verb
These remnants, signals from an earlier phase of our human condition, have been endlessly ciphered by generations of archaeologists in the Bears Ears region (which is named for twin buttes near its center). Stephen Nash, New York Times, 25 July 2017 See all Example Sentences for cipher 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cipher.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic ṣifr empty, cipher, zero

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1530, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of cipher was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near cipher

Cite this Entry

“Cipher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cipher. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

cipher

1 of 2 noun
ci·​pher ˈsī-fər How to pronounce cipher (audio)
1
: the symbol 0 meaning the absence of all magnitude or quantity : zero see number
2
a
: a method of changing a message so as to conceal its meaning
b
: a message in code

cipher

2 of 2 verb
ciphered; ciphering -f(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce cipher (audio)
1
: to use figures in calculating
2
: to change (a message) into cipher
Etymology

Noun

Middle English cipher "zero," from Latin cifra (same meaning), from Arabic ṣifr "empty"

More from Merriam-Webster on cipher

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