A cipher is a way to write messages so that others cannot understand them. People use it to keep information safe and private.
They use a cipher to hide messages.
Can you read this secret cipher?
This meaning means the way or system used to change a message into a secret form. It is often used in computer or spy work.
The spy used a cipher to send notes.
This cipher is hard to break.
Here, cipher means the number zero. It can also mean someone who has no power or importance.
The score was a cipher, zero points.
He is just a cipher in the group.
This means a person who seems not to matter or have power in a group or situation. They are often ignored or unseen.
He feels like a cipher at work.
In the team, she was a cipher.
As a verb, cipher means to write or change a message so that others cannot read it. This is done to keep information secret.
We cipher the letters to keep them safe.
She ciphered the message quickly.
This meaning of cipher means to do math, often by hand or mentally. It is an old-fashioned way to say calculate.
She ciphered the price in her head.
He ciphered the total quickly.
