Meanings
cypher1
plural cyphers
- UKalternativeAlternative spelling of cipher.
Lady Bertram seems more of a cypher now than when he is at home; […]
1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter XVII, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 3371 more example
I have been critical of the RDG in the past for merely being a cypher for government announcements, but the failure of its members to make a stand on this issue and not be complicit in the Government's subterfuge is a shocking indictment of their failure to protect the industry.
2023 July 26, Christian Wolmar, “Closing ticket offices to lead to 'catch-22' for passengers”, in RAIL, number 988, page 42
present singular third person cyphers · participle present cyphering · participle past cyphered · past cyphered
- UKalternativeAlternative spelling of cipher.
Cypher2
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number
nouna quantity of no importance; thing (object:), singular, negative pronoun; pronoun, thing, singular; quantifier: negative existential
verbconvert ordinary language into code
verbmake a mathematical calculation or computation
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- GermanSeifer
- EnglishCypher
Americanized spelling of German Seifer.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
cypher. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cypher
“cypher.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cypher. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cypher,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cypher.
Source: cypher on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.