encrypt

verb

en·​crypt in-ˈkript How to pronounce encrypt (audio)
en-
encrypted; encrypting; encrypts

Examples of encrypt in a Sentence

The software will encrypt the message before it is sent.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
What’s left is like a digital barcode for your eyeball that’s encrypted, split into pieces, and scattered across a decentralized network, kind of like a glitter bomb. Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 2 May 2025 Regardless of that, Signal is a commercially available app that is encrypted but is not a government network and not authorized to carry classified information. Tara Copp, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025 On Friday, state Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, decried the notion of another police department moving to encrypt its radio traffic. Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2025 Once a device is compromised, hostile regimes and other malicious actors can spy on communications regardless of whether the information in question is encrypted. Ronald J. Deibert, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for encrypt

Word History

Etymology

en- entry 1 + -crypt (in cryptanalysis, cryptogram), perhaps after decrypt

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of encrypt was in 1944

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Cite this Entry

“Encrypt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encrypt. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

encrypt

verb
en·​crypt
in-ˈkript
: to change (information) from one form to another especially to hide its meaning
encrypt the message
encryption
-ˈkrip-shən
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on encrypt

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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