Meaning & use
encrypting
Last updated
“encrypting” is a form of “encrypt”.
Meaning
verbtransitivecomputing
Turning information into a coded form that only people with the right key can read.
Grammar: Takes an object: encrypting the files, encrypting messages.
Patterns
- encrypting something with something
- encrypting something for someone
The app is encrypting your messages before they leave your phone.
We spent the weekend encrypting customer records on the server.
Encrypting a hard drive protects your data if the laptop is stolen.
Word forms
| base form | encrypt |
|---|---|
| third person singular | encrypts |
| past tense | encrypted |
| past participle | encrypted |
Common combinations
- encrypting data
- Encrypting data keeps it private on public Wi-Fi.
- encrypting files
- Encrypting files takes only a minute with this tool.
- encrypting emails
- She is encrypting emails that contain medical details.
- encrypting a password
- Encrypting a password before storing it prevents theft.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scrambling
- Scrambling is an informal word for mixing data up, while encrypting means using a formal method that can be reversed with a key.
- encoding
- Encoding changes data into another format for storage or transfer and need not hide it, while encrypting is meant to keep it secret.
- coding
- Coding is a broad word that may mean writing programs, so it is too vague to replace encrypting.
Opposites
Word family
- encrypt verb
- to turn data into a secret code
- encryption noun
- the process or system of coding data
- encrypted adjective
- turned into a secret code
- decrypt verb
- to turn coded data back into readable form
Commonly confused: encrypting or encoding?
encrypting vs encoding
Encoding changes the format of data but does not necessarily hide it from others, unlike encrypting.
Practice
Our team is ___ the customer database so that stolen files cannot be read.
Choose one answer.
Encrypting turns data into unreadable code; decrypting does the reverse and the others do not protect readability.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “encrypting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.