Dictionary Home » Dictionary Definitions » key

key

Listen See in Thesaurus See in a sentence

A key is a metal instrument used for opening and closing a lock or operating a mechanical device. (noun)

An example of key is what people use to open their car doors and start the engine.

See key in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. keys

an instrument, usually of metal, for moving the bolt of a lock and thus locking or unlocking something
any of several instruments or mechanical devices resembling or suggesting this in form or use; specif.,
1. a device to turn a bolt, etc.: a skate key, a watch key
2. a pin, bolt, wedge, cotter, or similar device put into a hole or space to lock or hold parts together
3. something that completes or holds together the parts of another thing, as the keystone of an arch or a roughened surface forming a secure base for plaster
4. any of a set of levers, or the disks, buttons, etc. connected to them, pressed down in operating a piano, accordion, clarinet, typewriter, linotype, word processor, etc.
5. a device for opening or closing an electric circuit
6. a small metal piece for fastening a wheel, pulley, etc. to a shaft
7. a key-shaped emblem presented as an honor: the key to the city
something regarded as like a key in opening or closing a way, revealing or concealing, etc.; specif.,
1. a place so located as to give access to or control of a region: Vicksburg was the key to the lower Mississippi
2. a thing that explains or solves something else, as a book of answers, the explanations on a map, the code to a system of pronunciation, etc.
3. a controlling or essential person or thing
tone of voice; pitch
1. tone or style of thought or expression: in a cheerful key
2. relative intensity of feeling: low-key remarks on a volatile subject
the tone of a picture with regard to lightness or darkness or intensity of color
☆ Basketball either of the marked or painted areas on the court near each basket, extending from the end line to the top of the circle that surrounds the foul line
Biol. an arrangement or listing of the significant characteristics of a group of organisms, used as a guide for taxonomic identification
Bot. key fruit
Comput. a field in a record, used to uniquely identify that record
Music
1. Obsolete the keynote of a scale
2. a system of related notes or tones based on and named after a certain note (keynote, tonic) and forming a given scale; tonality
3. the main tonality of a composition

adjective

controlling; essential; important: a key position

transitive verb keyed, keying

to fasten or lock with a key or wedge
to furnish with a key; specif.,
1. to put the keystone in (an arch)
2. to provide with an explanatory key
to regulate the tone or pitch of
to bring into harmony or accord
keyboard

noun pl. keys

a reef or low island

noun

Slang a kilogram (of marijuana or a narcotic drug)

Key, Francis Scott 1779-1843; U.S. lawyer: wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner”

See key in American Heritage Dictionary 4

(kē)

noun pl. keys keys

a. A notched and grooved, usually metal implement that is turned to open or close a lock.
b. A similar device used for opening or winding: the key of a clock; a can that has a key attached.
A means of access, control, or possession.
a. A vital, crucial element.
b. A set of answers to a test.
c. A table, gloss, or cipher for decoding or interpreting.
A device, such as a wedge or pin, inserted to lock together mechanical or structural parts.
Architecture The keystone in the crown of an arch.
a. A button or lever that is depressed to operate a machine.
b. A button that is depressed to cause a corresponding character or function to be typed or executed by a typewriter or to be accepted as input by a computer.
c. Music A button or lever that is depressed with the finger to produce or modulate the sound of an instrument, such as a clarinet or piano.
Music
a. A tonal system consisting of seven tones in fixed relationship to a tonic, having a characteristic key signature and being the structural foundation of the bulk of Western music; tonality.
b. The principal tonality of a work: an etude in the key of E.
The pitch of a voice or other sound.
A characteristic tone or level of intensity, as of a speech or sales campaign. Often used in combination: high-key; low-key.
Botany A samara.
An outline of the distinguishing characteristics of a group of organisms, used as a guide in taxonomic identification.
Basketball An area at each end of the court between the base line and the foul line and including the jump-ball circle at the foul line: a jump shot from the top of the key.

adjective

Of crucial importance; significant: key decisions; the key element of the thesis.

verb keyed keyed, key·ing, keys keys

verb, transitive

To lock with or as if with a key.
Architecture To furnish (an arch) with a keystone.
Music To regulate the pitch of.
To bring into harmony; adjust or adapt.
To supply an explanatory key for.
a. To operate (a device), as for typesetting, by means of a keyboard.
b. To enter (data) into a computer by means of a keyboard.
To identify (a biological specimen).
To vandalize or mar by scratching with a key: Vandals keyed the cars left in the parking garage.

verb, intransitive

To pay close attention; focus: improved service by keying on customer complaints; keyed in on the main points of the lecture.
Sports To watch or cover an opposing player closely in an effort to limit the player's effectiveness. Used with on: “[She] still carries the burden of scoring … even though opponents key on her throughout every game” (Josh Barr).

Phrasal Verb: key up To make intense, excited, or nervous.

(kē)

noun pl. keys keys

A low offshore island or reef, especially in the Gulf of Mexico; a cay.

(kē)

noun pl. keys keys
Slang

A kilogram of marijuana, cocaine, or heroin.

(kē), Francis Scott 1779-1843.

American lawyer and poet who wrote “Defense of Fort M'Henry” after witnessing the British attack on Fort McHenry at Baltimore on September 13-14, 1814. The poem was set to the music of an 18th-century tune called “To Anacreon in Heaven,” renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and in 1931 was adopted by Congress as the national anthem.

Learn more about key

» key synonyms

» Key abbreviations & acronyms

» key computer definition

» key Culture

» key phrase meanings

» key science

» key sentence examples

» key quote examples

» key images

Related Articles

» Pronunciation Key