code word

Definition of code wordnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of code word The mention of a cover proved to be the code word, triggering the attention of the girl who introduced herself in a childlike whisper as Norma Jeane Dougherty. — Joshua John Miller, HollywoodReporter, 5 June 2026 When the MPKs didn’t know the Marines’ secret code word, the Marines slaughtered them and then shrugged and walked away from all their dead bodies to stay on mission (as in, kill more Marsies). — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 29 May 2026 To coordinate events in real time, the team used code words and hand signals. — Justin Ray, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026 For our district, seniority has become a code word for stagnation. — Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for code word
Recent Examples of Synonyms for code word
Noun
  • The media are somewhat responsible, so apologies for beating a dead metaphor.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2026
  • This shift reminds us that dead metaphors aren’t always terminally dead.
    — Rob Nixon, Smithsonian, 23 Mar. 2018
Noun
  • Here the analogy with water waves isn’t quite right, but another analogy familiar from everyday life helps.
    — Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • But if the Dodgers don't somehow surge back from 0-3 and become just the second team in MLB history to overcome such a deficit in an LCS series, the Godfather analogy could hold up remarkably well.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • In this way, simile and metaphor stretch beyond what’s possible to bring us closer to what’s true.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Isla’s mother, Chloe Howell, said the tween loves to crack jokes at home and came up with the funny simile herself.
    — Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Forty-one minutes later, the CFIA issued—Orwell would appreciate the agency’s flair for euphemism—a Notice to Dispose.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Orwell was exploring the roles that euphemism, tangled syntax, and dying metaphors can play in obscuring the true intentions of a totalitarian state.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Much has been debated and discussed about its many metaphors and symbolism, which employed elements of a splintered universe long before the multiverse was hijacked by Hollywood superhero spectacles.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • These metaphors take on fresh force at a museum whose collection contains so many mosaics and so many textiles, and which is increasingly dedicated to uncovering the personal stories of their makers.
    — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Here, instead, she’s swayed by a dead Diana softly squeezing her hand and kindly hinting — the dead Diana is an ace at tactful circumlocution — that now is the time to show a mourning nation some emotion.
    — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Code word.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/code%20word. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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