ci·pher
| \ ˈsī-fər
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Definition of cipher
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: zero sense 1a
b
: one that has no weight, worth, or influence : nonentity
It was an odd fact that the financier, a cipher in his own home, could impress all sorts of people at the office.— P. G. Wodehouse Why did the family, I wondered, act as if Rita hardly existed? Was she that much of a cipher?— Andrew M. Greeley
2a
: a method of transforming a text in order to conceal its meaning
secret communications written in cipher
— compare code sense 3b
b
: a message in code
The cipher cannot be decoded without the key.
3
: arabic numeral
4
: a combination of symbolic letters
especially
: the interwoven initials of a name
coins that bore the cipher of the sultan