substitution cipher

noun

: a cipher in which the letters of the plaintext are systematically replaced by substitute letters compare transposition cipher

Examples of substitution cipher in a Sentence

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The new script is, wait for it, encrypted using what is known as a shifting substitution cipher rather than being in plain text. Davey Winder, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025 Indeed, a simple substitution cipher like this almost always caves to the kind of frequency analysis Holmes used. PCMAG, 22 Aug. 2023 Related Stories To solve the first two passages, codebreakers used vigenere, which is what cryptologists call a polyalphabetic substitution cipher system. Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 3 Feb. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of substitution cipher was in 1936

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Cite this Entry

“Substitution cipher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/substitution%20cipher. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

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