A code word is a word or phrase that has a special meaning, different from its normal meaning, for the people who have agreed to use it in this way.
...magnum, the code word for launching a radar attack. [+ for]
2. countable noun [usu Nfor n]
A code word is a word or phrase that someone, especially a public figure, uses in order to avoid saying something else.
'Tired and emotional' is a code word for being drunk.
code word in British English
or codeword or code-word (ˈkəʊdwɜːd)
noun
1.
a word used to identify a classified plan, operation, etc
Magnum was the code word for launching a radar attack.
2.
a word used to identify someone or something as genuine
The caller had failed to use a recognised code word which would have verified theauthenticity of the threat.
The intermediary gave Short a special code word and arranged a time for a contest.
3. formal
a word that is known to mean something else
'Tired and emotional' is a code word for being drunk.
code word in American English
US
1.
a word or phrase with a secret meaning, often, specif., one used to convey an idea or attitude that cannot be openly divulged because it is socially or politically unacceptable
2.
a euphemistic word or phrase
Examples of 'code word' in a sentence
code word
It was like a code word, signalling the start of the D-Day landings.
Barbara Erskine SANDS OF TIME (2003)
`But let's for security's sake use a code word to insure authenticity.