From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcode wordˈcode word noun [countable]1a word or phrase that is given a different meaning to its usual meaning, so that it can be used to communicate something secretly2a word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one when you want to avoid shocking someoneSYN euphemismcode word for
‘Lively discussion’ is a code word for ‘argument’.Examples from the Corpuscode word• Excellence becomes a code word for retreat from equity.• Each employee has a code word, which the computer's voice recognitionchipchecks.• If it had a name, or a code word, well that sounds like civilservants playing games.• Essentially, each code word is a separate, highly specializedentity.• Suppose I forget the code word.• Occasionally, the code word has to be changed because it has been compromised.• Previously the code word for this was Trine and before that, during the early 1960s, Dinar.
