codify

C3O1D2I1F4Y4
UK/ˈkəʊ.dɪˌfaɪ/Atlantic Canada, US/ˈkɑ.dɪˌfaɪ/Atlantic Canada, US[ˈkɑ.ɾɪˌfaɪ]Atlantic Canada, US/ˈkoʊ.dɪˌfaɪ/

verb

To reduce to a code, to arrange into a code.

“The company president codified the goal as a one-line mission statement.”

Similar
inscripturatesystematizesystematise
OriginProto-Italic *θakos ← Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ← English code →
UncommonScrabble 15
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbcodify (third-person singular simple present codifies, present participle codifying, simple past and past participle codified)

present singular third person codifies · participle present codifying · participle past codified · past codified

  1. To reduce to a code, to arrange into a code.

    The company president codified the goal as a one-line mission statement.

  2. To collect and arrange in a systematic form.
    1 more example

    The house of Ruthven was a small but ultra-modern limestone affair, between Madison and Fifth ;[…]. As a matter of fact its narrow ornate façade presented not a single quiet space that the eyes might rest on after a tiring attempt to follow and codify the arabesques, foliations, and intricate vermiculations of what some disrespectfully dubbed as “ near-aissance.”

    1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter V, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC
  3. To enact as an official rule or law.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
inscripturatesystematizesystematise
Also see
organize

Origin

  1. Latincaudex
  2. Latincōdex
  3. Old Frenchcode
  4. Middle Englishcode
  5. Englishcode
  6. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  7. Proto-Italic*θakos
  8. Englishcodify

From code + -ify.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian кодирам
  • кодирам (kodiram)reduce to a code
Catalan codificar
  • codificarreduce to a code
Chinese Mandarin 編成法典 /编成法典, 使法律成文化
  • 編成法典 /编成法典 (biānchéng fǎdiǎn)reduce to a code
  • 使法律成文化 (shǐ fǎlǜ chéngwénhuà)reduce to a code
  • 法典化 (fǎdiǎnhuà)reduce to a code
Czech kodifikovat
  • kodifikovatreduce to a code
Finnish kodifioida, koontaa (lait)
  • kodifioidareduce to a code
  • koontaa (lait)reduce to a code
French codifier
  • codifierreduce to a code
German kodifizieren
  • kodifizierenreduce to a code
Greek κωδικοποιώ
  • κωδικοποιώ (kodikopoió)reduce to a code
Japanese 成文化する
  • 成文化する (seibunka suru)reduce to a code
Polish kodyfikować, kodyfikować
  • kodyfikowaćreduce to a code
  • kodyfikowaćcollect and arrange in a systematic form
Portuguese codificar
  • codificarreduce to a code
Romanian codifica
  • codificareduce to a code
Russian кодифици́ровать, зашифро́вывать
  • кодифици́ровать (kodificírovatʹ)reduce to a code
  • зашифро́вывать (zašifróvyvatʹ)reduce to a code
  • зашифрова́ть (zašifrovátʹ)reduce to a code
  • кодифици́ровать (kodificírovatʹ)collect and arrange in a systematic form
Spanish codificar
  • codificarreduce to a code
Ukrainian кодифікува́ти
  • кодифікува́ти (kodyfikuváty)collect and arrange in a systematic form
Vietnamese pháp điển hóa
  • pháp điển hóareduce to a code
Cite this entry
APA

codify. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/codify

MLA

“codify.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/codify. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “codify,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/codify.

Source: codify on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.