encryption

Everyday

1. Encryption is turning a message or data into a secret code so that only someone with the right key can read it. tree →
2. An encryption is one particular way or system of doing this. tree →

In the lessons

In computing and online-safety lessons, encryption is what keeps passwords, bank details and private chats safe as they travel across the internet; the padlock in a web browser means the connection uses encryption. In history lessons it links to codes and code-breaking, such as the Enigma machine. Phrases: «end-to-end encryption», «strong encryption», «break the encryption», «encryption key».

Examples

• Encryption scrambles your message so nobody else can read it. tree →
• The padlock icon shows the website uses encryption. tree →
• Our chat app has end-to-end encryption. tree →
• During the war, code-breakers tried to crack the enemy's encryption. tree →
• Without the key, the encrypted file looks like nonsense. tree →
• Banks use strong encryption to protect your money. tree →
• We made a simple encryption by moving each letter three places along the alphabet. tree →

Note

Mostly uncountable: «use encryption», not «an encryption», unless you mean one type of it. Verb: encrypt (encrypts, encrypted, encrypting); opposite: decryption, decrypt. Encryption is not the same as a password: the password may unlock the key, but encryption is the scrambling itself.