# cipher

/ˈsaɪfɝ/ (US) · /sˈaɪfɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/cipher
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. secret code

noun · CEFR B2 · Technical

a secret way of writing where you change letters or numbers to hide the message.

For teachers: a cryptographic system or algorithm for performing encryption or decryption.

- The spies used a complex cipher to send messages that no one else could read.
- The historical document was written in a substitution cipher that remained unbroken for over three centuries.

### 2. unimportant person

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary · Formal

a person who has no power or whose character is not clear to others.

For teachers: a person of no influence, importance, or distinct personality; a nonentity.

- He felt like a cipher in the large company, just a number that nobody noticed.
- Despite his high-ranking title, he was a mere cipher, with all actual policy decisions being made by his subordinates.

### 3. hip-hop gathering

noun · CEFR C2 · Slang

a circle of rappers or dancers who take turns showing their skills.

For teachers: an informal gathering of rappers, beatboxers, or breakdancers in a circle to jam or improvise together.

- After the concert, a group of local rappers started a cipher on the street corner.
- The underground event culminated in an intense cipher where each emcee had to improvise over a shifting breakbeat.

### 4. the number zero

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic

an old word for the number zero.

For teachers: a mathematical symbol for zero; the absence of quantity.

- In the old ledger, the accountant marked the empty balance with a cipher.
- The manuscript uses a unique glyph for the cipher, distinguishing it from the other Arabic numerals in the sequence.

### 5. to calculate

verb · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Dialect

to do math or solve a problem using numbers.

For teachers: to perform mathematical calculations or arithmetic.

- The schoolboy spent the afternoon learning to cipher on his slate.
- He was known in the village for his ability to cipher large sums in his head without the aid of a ledger.

### 6. to write in code

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to turn a message into a secret code.

For teachers: to convert a message into ciphertext using a specific algorithm.

- The diplomat had to cipher the report before sending it to the capital.
- Standard protocols require the operator to cipher all sensitive transmissions before they are broadcast over open frequencies.

## Examples

- The spy used a complex cipher to send the message.
- Historians spent decades trying to crack the mechanical cipher used by the military during the Great War.
- The protagonist remains a cipher throughout the novel, his motivations obscured by a series of contradictory actions that leave the reader questioning his true allegiance until the final chapter.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.