dictionary attack

From dictionary +‎ attack.^[1]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌdɪkʃənəɹi əˈtæk/, /ˌdɪkʃənɹi-/, /ˌdɪkʃnəɹi-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌdɪkʃəˌnɛɹi əˈtæk/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æk
• Hyphenation: dic‧tion‧a‧ry at‧tack

dictionary attack (plural dictionary attacks)

1. (computing, cryptography) An attempt to illegally access a computer network, website, etc., that uses a list of words (from a dictionary) to try to guess decryption keys or passwords. [from 1980s]

   Hypernym: cyberattack

   Experts warn against using ordinary words as passwords as they are vulnerable to dictionary attacks.

• dictionary attacker

• brute force

• dictionary attack on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “dictionary attack” (US) / “dictionary attack” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.