Words / B1

KOHD/kəʊd/

A code can be a secret system of letters, or a set of rules: a secret code; dress code; code of conduct; the Highway Code (UK road rules). Cipher is the technical twin for secret writing; rule is the everyday word for one instruction. Area codes and postcodes are number systems. Code as a verb (write computer code) is a later extra. Do not write “a dress codes” — dress code is usually singular.

Meaning

A secret system of letters or signs, or a set of rules such as a dress code.

Examples

• “The message was written in a secret code.”
• “The school’s dress code bans ripped jeans in exams.”
• “New drivers must study the Highway Code before the test.”

Good to know

secret code. dress code / code of conduct. UK roads: the Highway Code. One instruction: rule. Secret writing: cipher.

Near in meaning

cipher

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