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code

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A set of rules for converting information into another form or representation.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kohd
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkoʊd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A set of rules for converting information into another form or representation.

  2. A set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones)

  3. Any system of principles, rules or regulations relating to one subject.

  4. A message represented by rules intended to conceal its meaning.

  5. By synecdoche: a codeword, code point, an encoded representation of a character, symbol, or other entity.

  6. programminguncountable

    Instructions for a computer, written in a programming language; the input of a translator, an interpreter or a browser, namely: source code, machine code, bytecode.

verb

  1. To categorise by assigning identifiers from a schedule, for example CPT coding for medical insurance purposes.

  2. transitive

    To add codes to (a data set).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A set of rules for converting information into another form or representation.

Used this way, code is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • computer code , more casual, better suited to speech than writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use code

  • “Code the pieces with numbers so that you can identify them later.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Set / body

genetic code

Instructions

code name

Other combinations

source codecriminal codezip codemoral coderevenue codecode sec

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • codernounInflected form

    A person who designs and writes and tests computer programs.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • code of conductnounCompound term

    A set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group.

  • code of behaviornounCompound term

    A set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group.

  • code flagnounCompound term

    One of an international code of flag signals used between ships.

  • genetic codenounCompound term

    The ordering of nucleotides in DNA molecules that carries the genetic information in living cells.

  • building codenounCompound term

    Set of standards established and enforced by local government for the structural safety of buildings.

  • area codenounCompound term

    A number usually of 3 digits assigned to a telephone area as in the United States and Canada.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: set of rules for converting information into another form

computer codeInformal

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.