plaintext

noun

plain·​text ˈplān-ˌtekst How to pronounce plaintext (audio)
: the intelligible form of an encrypted text or of its elements compare ciphertext

Examples of plaintext in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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And many of those fail to provide a means for securely deleting the plaintext originals of those files. PCMAG, 28 Jan. 2025 These algorithms take a block of plaintext and the encryption key as input and run them through a subprocess that repeats for a set number of rounds before outputting a finished ciphertext. Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2024 What Is Data Encryption? Data encryption is the process of converting readable data (plaintext) into an unreadable format (ciphertext) using a cryptographic key. Ofer Lidsky, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024 Since 1988, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority has managed the Web’s Domain Name System—basically the system that converts our plaintext addresses like spectrum.ieee.org into the actual numerical IP addresses that computers use to navigate to specific sites. IEEE Spectrum, 15 June 2018 See all Example Sentences for plaintext 

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of plaintext was in 1918

Dictionary Entries Near plaintext

Cite this Entry

“Plaintext.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plaintext. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.

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