KEY

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Key mean? 

• KEY (noun)
  The noun KEY has 15 senses:

1. metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
2. something crucial for explaining
3. pitch of the voice
4. any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music
5. a kilogram of a narcotic drug
6. a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple
7. 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)
8. a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida
9. (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
10. a list of answers to a test
11. a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations
12. a generic term for any device whose possession entitles the holder to a means of access
13. mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock)
14. the central building block at the top of an arch or vault
15. a lever that actuates a mechanism when depressed

  Familiarity information: KEY used as a noun is familiar.

• KEY (adjective)
  The adjective KEY has 2 senses:

1. serving as an essential component
2. effective; producing a desired effect

  Familiarity information: KEY used as an adjective is rare.

• KEY (verb)
  The verb KEY has 5 senses:

1. identify as in botany or biology, for example
2. provide with a key
3. vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key
4. regulate the musical pitch of
5. harmonize with or adjust to

  Familiarity information: KEY used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KEY (noun)

Sense 1

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Meronyms (parts of "key"):

shank; stem (cylinder forming a long narrow part of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "key"):

ignition key (a key that operates the ignition switch of an automotive engine)

latchkey (key for raising or drawing back a latch or opening an outside door)

master; master key; passe-partout; passkey (key that secures entrance everywhere)

Sense 2

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Something crucial for explaining

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

the key to development is economic integration

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

explanation (thought that makes something comprehensible)

Sense 3

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Pitch of the voice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

he spoke in a low key

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

pitch (the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration)

Sense 4

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

tonality; key

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

musical notation (a notation used by musicians)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "key"):

major key; major mode (a key whose harmony is based on the major scale)

minor key; minor mode (a key based on the minor scale)

home key; tonic key (the basic key in which a piece of music is written)

Sense 5

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A kilogram of a narcotic drug

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Context example:

they were carrying two keys of heroin

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

kg; kilo; kilogram (one thousand grams; the basic unit of mass adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites)

Domain usage:

argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))

Sense 6

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

samara; key fruit; key

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

achene (small dry indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall)

Sense 7

Key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

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)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Francis Scott Key; Key

Instance hypernyms:

attorney; lawyer (a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice)

poet (a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry))

Sense 8

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A coral reef off the southern coast of Florida

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

Florida key; cay; key

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

coral reef (a reef consisting of coral consolidated into limestone)

Holonyms ("key" is a part of...):

Everglade State; FL; Florida; Sunshine State (a state in southeastern United States between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil War)

Sense 9

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

(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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

paint; key

Context examples:

he hit a jump shot from the top of the key / he dominates play in the paint

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

space (an area reserved for some particular purpose)

Meronyms (parts of "key"):

foul line (a line from which basketball players take penalty shots)

Domain category:

basketball; basketball game; hoops (a game played on a court by two opposing teams of 5 players; points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal hoop)

Holonyms ("key" is a part of...):

basketball court (the court on which basketball is played)

Sense 10

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A list of answers to a test

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

some students had stolen the key to the final exam

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

list; listing (a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics))

Sense 11

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

list; listing (a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "key"):

key word (a word that is used as a pattern to decode an encrypted message)

Sense 12

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A generic term for any device whose possession entitles the holder to a means of access

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

a safe-deposit box usually requires two keys to open it

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

positive identification (evidence proving that you are who you say you are; evidence establishing that you are among the group of people already known to the system; recognition by the system leads to acceptance)

Sense 13

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

winder; key

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

mechanical device (mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "key"):

watch key (winder consisting of a key with a square hole; used for winding some watches)

Sense 14

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The central building block at the top of an arch or vault

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

headstone; keystone; key

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

building block (a block of material used in construction work)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "key"):

coign; coigne; quoin (the keystone of an arch)

Holonyms ("key" is a part of...):

arch ((architecture) a masonry construction (usually curved) for spanning an opening and supporting the weight above it)

Sense 15

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A lever that actuates a mechanism when depressed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("key" is a kind of...):

lever (a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "key"):

telegraph key (key consisting of a lever that sends a telegraph signal when it is depressed and the circuit is closed)

tab; tab key (the key on a typewriter or a word processor that causes a tabulation)

space bar (the bar-shaped typewriter key that introduces spaces when used)

shift; shift key (the key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters)

return; return key (the key on electric typewriters or computer keyboards that causes a carriage return and a line feed)

command key; control key ((computer science) the key on a computer keyboard that is used (in combination with some other key) to type control characters)

backspace; backspace key; backspacer (the typewriter key used for back spacing)

Holonyms ("key" is a part of...):

action; action mechanism (the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism)

Holonyms ("key" is a member of...):

keyboard (device consisting of a set of keys on a piano or organ or typewriter or typesetting machine or computer or the like)

• KEY (adjective)

Sense 1

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Serving as an essential component

Synonyms:

primal; key; fundamental; central; cardinal

Context examples:

a cardinal rule / the central cause of the problem / an example that was fundamental to the argument / computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure

Similar:

important; of import (of great significance or value)

Sense 2

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Effective; producing a desired effect

Synonyms:

key; operative

Context example:

the operative word

Similar:

important; significant (important in effect or meaning)

• KEY (verb)

Sense 1

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Identify as in botany or biology, for example

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

key; key out; describe; distinguish; identify; name; discover

"Key" entails doing...:

assort; class; classify; separate; sort; sort out (arrange or order by classes or categories)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 2

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Provide with a key

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building

Hypernyms (to "key" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (provide or furnish with)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

His new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot

Hypernyms (to "key" is one way to...):

vandalise; vandalize (destroy wantonly, as through acts of vandalism)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Regulate the musical pitch of

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "key" is one way to...):

chord; harmonise; harmonize (bring into consonance, harmony, or accord while making music or singing)

Domain category:

music ((music) the sounds produced by singers or musical instruments (or reproductions of such sounds))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 5

key [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Harmonize with or adjust to

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude

Hypernyms (to "key" is one way to...):

harmonise; harmonize; reconcile (bring into consonance or accord)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody PP