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

And on that, the caveats and qualifiers around Gmail’s end-to-end encryption highlight how difficult a medium email is to fully secure. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025

Microsoft then added some extra layers of security, like data encryption and making Recall opt-in. —Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 11 Apr. 2025

Military and governmental telecom satellites have long been protected by encryption and special waveforms that are resistant to jamming and interception. —Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 7 Apr. 2025

This backdoor would allow the government to access information secured by Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) system, which applies end-to-end encryption to a wide range of iCloud data. —Ryan Browne, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025

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