code

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Instructions written in a programming language that tell a computer what to do.

   She spent the morning fixing a bug in the code.

2. 2
   verb

   To write instructions for a computer in a programming language.

   I learned to code on a home computer in the 1980s.

3. 3
   noun

   A set of rules or principles that guide behaviour within a group or profession.

   Every member must follow the company's code of conduct.

4. 4
   noun

   A system of symbols or signals used to send messages secretly.

   The spies sent their messages in code.

5. 5
   verb

   To put a message into a secret system of symbols.

   We should code the message for security reasons.

Common collocations

• source code Noun + noun
• triplet code Noun + noun

From Middle English code (“system of law”), from Old French code (“system of law”), from Latin cōdex, later form of caudex (“the stock or stem of a tree, a board or tablet of wood smeared over with wax, on which the ancients originally wrote; hence, a book, a writing.”). Doublet of codex. Verb etymology 1, verb sense 7 is an ellipsis of code blue (“medical emergency”).

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images