cipher: Meaning and Definition of
ci•pher
Pronunciation: (sī'fur), [key]
— n.
- zero.
- any of the Arabic numerals or figures.
- Arabic numerical notation collectively.
- something of no value or importance.
- a person of no influence; nonentity.
- a secret method of writing, as by transposition or substitution of letters, specially formed symbols, or the like. Cf. cryptography.
- writing done by such a method; a coded message.
- the key to a secret method of writing.
- a combination of letters, as the initials of a name, in one design; monogram.
—v.i.
- to use figures or numerals arithmetically.
- to write in or as in cipher.
—v.t.
- to calculate numerically; figure.
- to convert into cipher.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.