# crypto

Pronunciation: say "KRIP-toh" US /ˈkɹɪptoʊ/, UK /ˈkɹɪptəʊ/

## Noun

1. Clipping of cryptocurrency. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of cryptocurrency
   - Simple: Short form of cryptocurrency. People use it for digital money like Bitcoin.
   - _Many young investors moved into crypto hoping for fast returns._
   - _Regulators are still deciding how to tax profits from crypto._
2. Clipping of cryptography. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of cryptography
   - Simple: Short form of cryptography. The science of keeping messages secret with codes.
   - _The bank relies on modern crypto to protect customer accounts._
   - _She specializes in crypto, designing ciphers for secure networks._
4. A person who secretly supports or follows a cause or group without declaring that allegiance openly.
   - Simple: A person who secretly supports a group or cause but keeps it hidden.
   - _The editor never joined the party, but colleagues long suspected him of being a crypto._
   - _After the purge, officials went hunting for cryptos who had hidden their real loyalties for years._
5. Clipping of cryptococcus. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of cryptococcus
   - Simple: Short form of cryptococcus. A type of fungus that can make people ill.
   - _The culture grew crypto within days of being plated._
   - _Doctors screen for crypto when a transplant patient develops a fever._
6. Clipping of cryptococcosis. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of cryptococcosis
   - Simple: Short form of cryptococcosis. An illness caused by a fungus.
   - _Crypto is a leading cause of meningitis among immunocompromised patients._
   - _Antifungal therapy for crypto can last several months._
7. Clipping of cryptosporidium. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of cryptosporidium
   - Simple: Short form of cryptosporidium. A tiny parasite found in dirty water.
   - _Crypto spreads through water contaminated with infected feces._
   - _Filtering the supply removed most of the crypto from the drinking water._
8. Clipping of cryptosporidiosis. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of cryptosporidiosis
   - Simple: Short form of cryptosporidiosis. A stomach illness caused by a tiny parasite.
   - _Crypto swept through the daycare after one child fell ill._
   - _Most healthy people recover from crypto without specific treatment._

## Adjective

3. Secret or covert; kept hidden rather than openly shown or declared.
   - Simple: Kept secret or hidden, so that other people do not know about it.
   - _Memoirs published after the war revealed the minister's crypto loyalties to the occupying power._
   - _His crypto opposition to the plan only surfaced after the vote._

## Origin

All senses are clippings of words built on the prefix crypto-, formed at different times in the 20th and 21st centuries. Since the 2010s and 2020s the "cryptocurrency" sense has dominated, though earlier the word referred to cryptography; the "secret supporter" sense comes from terms like cryptofascist and cryptocommunist, and several informal medical senses date from around the mid-20th century.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/crypto (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).