1. a secret or disguised way of writing; a code
2. a person or thing of no importance; a nonentity
3. the mathematical symbol (0) denoting absence of quantity; zero

1. to use figures in a mathematical calculation

Examples

• The spy sent a message written in cipher.
• Cryptographers work to break enemy ciphers.
• He felt like a cipher in the large corporation.
• The ancient cipher used symbols instead of letters.
• She learned to cipher quickly in arithmetic class.
• The cipher 0 represents nothing in mathematics.
• Students must cipher the math problems carefully.