onion routing

noun

A technique for anonymous communication over a computer network, the messages being repeatedly encrypted and sent through nodes called onion routers, each of which performs only one stage of the decryption.

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Meanings

nounonion routing (uncountable)
  1. uncountablecomputingA technique for anonymous communication over a computer network, the messages being repeatedly encrypted and sent through nodes called onion routers, each of which performs only one stage of the decryption.

Origin

By analogy with the many layers of an onion.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

onion routing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/onion%20routing

MLA

“onion routing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/onion%20routing. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “onion routing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/onion%20routing.

Source: onion routing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.