Cipher vs. Code

Ciphernoun

A numeric character.

Codenoun

A short symbol, often with little relation to the item it represents.

‘This flavour of soup has been assigned the code WRT-9.’;

Ciphernoun

Any text character.

Codenoun

A body of law, sanctioned by legislation, in which the rules of law to be specifically applied by the courts are set forth in systematic form; a compilation of laws by public authority; a digest.

Ciphernoun

A combination or interweaving of letters, as the initials of a name.

‘a painter's cipher’; ‘an engraver's cipher’;

Codenoun

Any system of principles, rules or regulations relating to one subject.

‘The medical code is a system of rules for the regulation of the professional conduct of physicians.’; ‘The naval code is a system of rules for making communications at sea by means of signals.’;

Ciphernoun

A method of transforming a text in order to conceal its meaning.

‘The message was written in a simple cipher. Anyone could figure it out.’;

Codenoun

A set of rules for converting information into another form or representation.

Ciphernoun

(cryptography) A cryptographic system using an algorithm that converts letters or sequences of bits into ciphertext.

‘a public-key cipher’;

Codenoun

By synecdoche: a codeword, code point, an encoded representation of a character, symbol, or other entity.

‘The ASCII code of "A" is 65.’;

Ciphernoun

Ciphertext; a message concealed via a cipher.

‘The message is clearly a cipher, but I can't figure it out.’;

Codenoun

A message represented by rules intended to conceal its meaning.

Ciphernoun

A grouping of three digits in a number, especially when delimited by commas or periods:

‘The probability is 1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000 — a number having five ciphers of zeros.’;

Codenoun

(cryptography) A cryptographic system using a codebook that converts words or phrases into codewords.

Ciphernoun

(music) A fault in an organ valve which causes a pipe to sound continuously without the key having been pressed.

Codenoun

Instructions for a computer, written in a programming language; the input of a translator, an interpreter or a browser, namely: source code, machine code, bytecode.

‘Object-oriented C++ code is easier to understand for a human than C code.’; ‘I wrote some code to reformat text documents.’; ‘This HTML code may be placed on your web page.’;

Ciphernoun

A hip-hop jam session.

Codenoun

(scientific programming) A program.

Ciphernoun

(slang) The path (usually circular) shared cannabis takes through a group, an occasion of cannabis smoking.

Codenoun

(linguistics) A particular lect or language variety.

Ciphernoun

Someone or something of no importance.

Codeverb

(computing) To write software programs.

‘I learned to code on an early home computer in the 1980s.’;

Ciphernoun

(dated) Zero.

Codeverb

To categorise by assigning identifiers from a schedule, for example CPT coding for medical insurance purposes.

Cipherverb

To calculate.

‘I never learned much more than how to read and cipher.’;

Codeverb

(cryptography) To encode.

‘We should code the messages we send out on Usenet.’;

Cipherverb

(intransitive) To write in code or cipher.

Codeverb

To encode a protein.

Cipherverb

Of an organ pipe: to sound independent of the organ.

Codeverb

(medicine) To call a hospital emergency code.

‘coding in the CT scanner’;

Cipherverb

(obsolete) To decipher.

Codeverb

(medicine) Of a patient, to suffer a sudden medical emergency a code blue such as cardiac arrest.

Ciphernoun

A character [0] which, standing by itself, expresses nothing, but when placed at the right hand of a whole number, increases its value tenfold.

Codenoun

A body of law, sanctioned by legislation, in which the rules of law to be specifically applied by the courts are set forth in systematic form; a compilation of laws by public authority; a digest.

Ciphernoun

One who, or that which, has no weight or influence.

‘Here he was a mere cipher.’;

Codenoun

Any system of rules or regulations relating to one subject; as, the medical code, a system of rules for the regulation of the professional conduct of physicians; the naval code, a system of rules for making communications at sea means of signals.

Ciphernoun

A character in general, as a figure or letter.

‘This wisdom began to be written in ciphers and characters and letters bearing the forms of creatures.’;

Codenoun

a set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones)

Ciphernoun

A combination or interweaving of letters, as the initials of a name; a device; a monogram; as, a painter's cipher, an engraver's cipher, etc. The cut represents the initials N. W.

Codenoun

a coding system used for transmitting messages requiring brevity or secrecy

Ciphernoun

A private alphabet, system of characters, or other mode of writing, contrived for the safe transmission of secrets; also, a writing in such characters.

‘His father . . . engaged him when he was very young to write all his letters to England in cipher.’;

Codenoun

(computer science) the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer program or the set of such instructions

Cipheradjective

Of the nature of a cipher; of no weight or influence.

Codeverb

attach a code to;

‘Code the pieces with numbers so that you can identify them later’;

Cipherverb

To use figures in a mathematical process; to do sums in arithmetic.

‘"T was certain he could write and cipher too.’;

Codeverb

convert ordinary language into code;

‘We should encode the message for security reasons’;

Cipherverb

To write in occult characters.

‘His notes he ciphered with Greek characters.’;

Codenoun

a system of words, letters, figures, or symbols used to represent others, especially for the purposes of secrecy

‘the Americans cracked their diplomatic code’; ‘messages written in code’;

Cipherverb

To get by ciphering; as, to cipher out the answer.

Codenoun

a phrase or concept used to represent another in an indirect way

‘‘We'll catch up soon’ is usually a code for ‘I'm not that into you’’;

Cipherverb

To decipher.

Codenoun

a series of letters, numbers, or symbols assigned to something for the purposes of classification or identification

‘each box had a label with the code SC 90’;

Cipherverb

To designate by characters.

Codenoun

short for dialling code

‘I was given the number, but not the code for Guildford’;

Ciphernoun

a message written in a secret code

Codenoun

program instructions

‘assembly code’;

Ciphernoun

a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number

Codenoun

a systematic collection of laws or statutes

‘a revision of the penal code’;

Ciphernoun

a quantity of no importance;

‘it looked like nothing I had ever seen before’; ‘reduced to nil all the work we had done’; ‘we racked up a pathetic goose egg’; ‘it was all for naught’; ‘I didn't hear zilch about it’;

Codenoun

a set of conventions or moral principles governing behaviour in a particular sphere

‘a stern code of honour’; ‘a strict dress code’;

Ciphernoun

a person of no influence

Codeverb

convert (the words of a message) into a code so as to convey a secret meaning

‘only Mitch knew how to read the message—even the name was coded’;

Ciphernoun

a secret method of writing

Codeverb

express the meaning of (a statement) in an indirect way

‘they code their language when talking to the general public’;

Cipherverb

convert ordinary language into code;

‘We should encode the message for security reasons’;

Codeverb

assign a code to (something) for purposes of classification or identification

‘she coded the samples and sent them for dissection’;

Cipherverb

make a mathematical calculation or computation

Codeverb

write code for (a computer program)

‘most developers code C + + like C’; ‘I no longer actively code in PHP’;

Cipher

In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment.

Codeverb

be the genetic code for (an amino acid or protein)

‘genes that code for human growth hormone’;

Codeverb

be the genetic determiner of (a characteristic)

‘one pair of homologous chromosomes codes for eye colour’;

Code

In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication channel or storage in a storage medium. An early example is an invention of language, which enabled a person, through speech, to communicate what they thought, saw, heard, or felt to others.