noun
- Metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated.
- Something crucial for explaining.
- usage: "the key to development is economic integration"
- Pitch of the voice.
- usage: "he spoke in a low key"
- Any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music.
- synonyms: tonality
- A kilogram of a narcotic drug.
- usage: "they were carrying two keys of heroin"
- A winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple.
- United States lawyer and poet who wrote a poem after witnessing the British attack on Baltimore during the War of 1812; the poem was later set to music and entitled `The Star-Spangled Banner' (1779-1843.
- synonyms: Francis Scott Key
- A coral reef off the southern coast of Florida.
- synonyms: cay, Florida key
- Basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of the basket at each end of a basketball court; usually painted a different color from the rest of the court. (
- usage: "he hit a jump shot from the top of the key"; "he dominates play in the paint"
- synonyms: paint
- A list of answers to a test.
- usage: "some students had stolen the key to the final exam"
- A list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations.
- A generic term for any device whose possession entitles the holder to a means of access.
- usage: "a safe-deposit box usually requires two keys to open it"
- Mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock.
- synonyms: winder
- The central building block at the top of an arch or vault.
- A lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed.
verb
- Identify as in botany or biology, for example.
- Provide with a key.
- usage: "We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building"
- Vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key.
- usage: "His new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot"
- Regulate the musical pitch of.
- Harmonize with or adjust to.
- usage: "key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude"
adjective
- Serving as an essential component.
- usage: "a cardinal rule"; "the central cause of the problem"; "an example that was fundamental to the argument"; "computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure"
- synonyms: cardinal, central, fundamental, primal
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). key. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/key/definitions/1234107 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "key" http://smartdefine.org/key/definitions/1234107 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, key, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/key/definitions/1234107>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "key" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/key/definitions/1234107> |