Definition of "code" in English

noun

1. A short textual designation, often with little relation to the item it represents.

   • This flavour of soup has been assigned the code WRT-9.

2. A body of law, sanctioned by legislation, in which the rules of law to be specifically applied by the courts are set forth in systematic form; a compilation of laws by public authority; a digest.

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

   • The medical code is a system of rules for the regulation of the professional conduct of physicians.
   • The naval code is a system of rules for making communications at sea by means of signals.

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

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

6. (cryptography) A cryptographic system using a codebook that converts words or phrases into codewords.

7. (programming, uncountable) 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.

   • Object-oriented C++ code is easier to understand for a human than C code.
   • I wrote some code to reformat text documents.
   • This HTML code may be placed on your web page.

8. (scientific programming) A program.

9. (linguistics) A particular lect or language variety.

10. (medicine) An emergency requiring situation-trained members of the staff.

11. (informal) A set of unwritten rules that bind a social group.

    • girl code

verb

1. (computing) To write software programs.

   • I learned to code on an early home computer in the 1980s.

2. (transitive) To add codes to (a data set).

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

4. (cryptography) To encode.

   • We should code the messages we send out on Usenet.

5. (genetics, intransitive) To encode a protein.

6. (informal, healthcare) To call a hospital emergency code.

   • coding in the CT scanner

7. (informal, healthcare) Of a patient, to suffer a sudden medical emergency (a code blue) such as cardiac arrest.

noun

1. Alternative form of cod.