rail fence cipher

noun

A transposition cipher in which the plain text is written in a zigzag fashion diagonally up and down on successive "rails" of an imaginary fence, and then the characters are read off in rows to obtain the ciphertext.

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Meanings

nounrail fence cipher (plural rail fence ciphers)

plural rail fence ciphers

  1. computingA transposition cipher in which the plain text is written in a zigzag fashion diagonally up and down on successive "rails" of an imaginary fence, and then the characters are read off in rows to obtain the ciphertext.
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“rail fence cipher.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rail%20fence%20cipher. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

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

Source: rail fence cipher on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.