Meanings
plural numbers stations
- broadcastingA shortwave radio station characterized by unusual broadcasts, often of artificially generated voices reciting streams of numbers, words, etc., supposedly of coded messages.
Naturally enough, no government has actually admitted to operating a numbers station, but the suspicion is there.
2012, Ripley's Believe It Or Not! (compiler), Ripley's Unbelievable Stories For Guys1 more example
The most common numbers station features a young lady reading the numbers in Spanish. Other stations have both male and female voices reading numbers in Spanish, German, English and Chinese. So far, nobody has been able to decode any of the messages!
October 1986, William O'Connell, “Get On The Air”, in Boys' Life, volume 76, number 10, page 35
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 數字電台 /数字电台
- 數字電台 /数字电台 (shùzì diàntái)shortwave radio station
Finnish numeroasema
- numeroasemashortwave radio station
French station de nombres
- station de nombresshortwave radio station
Japanese 乱数放送, 暗号放送
- 乱数放送 (ransū hōsō)shortwave radio station
- 暗号放送 (angō hōsō)shortwave radio station
- ナンバーステーション (nanbā sutēshon)shortwave radio station
Russian номерная радиостанция, числовая радиостанция
- номерная радиостанция (nomernaja radiostancija)shortwave radio station
- числовая радиостанция (čislovaja radiostancija)shortwave radio station
Cite this entry
numbers station. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/numbers%20station
“numbers station.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/numbers%20station. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “numbers station,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/numbers%20station.
Source: numbers station on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.