noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A kind of plant virus associated with latent infection of the host, and not transmissible by many means.
2. 2
   A type of malware that is used for extortion by encrypting user files and asking for payment in exchange for the decryption key.

Synonyms

All synonyms

cryptoransomware

Etymology

Etymology 1

From crypto- (prefix meaning ‘hidden; invisible’) + virus.

Etymology 2

From crypto- (prefix meaning ‘cryptographic’) + virus.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.