Cipher - Definition

n 1: a message written in a secret code [syn: cipher,
cypher]
2: a mathematical element that when added to another number
yields the same number [syn: zero, 0, nought, cipher,
cypher]
3: a quantity of no importance; "it looked like nothing I had
ever seen before"; "reduced to nil all the work we had done";
"we racked up a pathetic goose egg"; "it was all for naught";
"I didn't hear zilch about it" [syn: nothing, nil, nix,
nada, null, aught, cipher, cypher, goose egg,
naught, zero, zilch, zip, zippo]
4: a person of no influence [syn: cipher, cypher, nobody,
nonentity]
5: a secret method of writing [syn: cipher, cypher,
cryptograph, secret code]
v 1: convert ordinary language into code; "We should encode the
message for security reasons" [syn: code, encipher,
cipher, cypher, encrypt, inscribe, write in code]
2: make a mathematical calculation or computation [syn:
calculate, cipher, cypher, compute, work out,
reckon, figure]