cipher: Meaning and Definition of

ci•pher

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