cryptogram

noun

"cryptogram" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cryptogram” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Encrypted text.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cryptogram · cryptogram · English

cryptogram · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for cryptogram
PropertyValue
Headwordcryptogram
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cryptogram” in English

cryptogramfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cryptogram is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cryptogram, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From crypto- + -gram. The correct English form is cryptogram, spelled C-R-Y-P-T-O-G-R-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Encrypted text.
  2. 2
    A type of word puzzle in which text encoded by a simple cipher is to be decoded.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cryptogram appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It's a big help in solving cryptograms if you know how a cryptogram is constructed. The constructor normally uses two alphabets, one for plaintext, one for the substitute cipher letters.
  2. To anyone who does not know the key, the five characters of the cryptogram are different but the genuine receiver is in no danger of confusion.

Etymology

From crypto- + -gram.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cryptogram"?
"cryptogram" is spelled C-R-Y-P-T-O-G-R-A-M.
What does "cryptogram" mean?
As a noun, "cryptogram" means: Encrypted text.
What is the origin of the word "cryptogram"?
From crypto- + -gram. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list