1. Metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
   "He fumbled for his house key in the dark"
    
2. One of several labelled buttons on a typewriter, computer keyboard, or keypad, used to enter a particular character or invoke a particular function
   "She pressed the Enter key to submit the form"
    
3. A generic term for any device whose possession entitles the holder to a means of access
   "a safe-deposit box usually requires two keys to open it"
    
4. Something crucial for explaining
   "the key to development is economic integration"
    
5. Any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music
   "The symphony was written in the key of C major";
   - tonality
    
6. A list of answers to a test
   "some students had stolen the key to the final exam"
    
7. A list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations
   "The map included a key to help readers understand the various symbols used"
    
8. Pitch of the voice
   "he spoke in a low key"
    
9. The central building block at the top of an arch or vault
   "The key stone locked the entire structure in place";
   - keystone, headstone
    
10. Mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock)
    "He used the key to set the time on the antique clock";
    - winder
     
11. A winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash, elm or maple
    "Children love to play with the helicopter-like keys of maple trees";
    - samara, key fruit
     
12. A small, low-elevation sandy island formed on the surface of a coral reef
    "We visited a secluded key during our Caribbean cruise";
    - cay, Florida key
     
13. (basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of the basket at each end of a basketball court; usually painted a different colour from the rest of the court
    "he hit a jump shot from the top of the key";
    - paint
     
14. A kilogram of a narcotic drug
    "they were carrying two keys of heroin"

1. Serving as an essential component
   "a key rule";
   - cardinal, central, fundamental, primal

1. Harmonize with or adjust to
   "key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude"
    
2. (music) regulate the musical pitch of
   "The pianist keyed the instrument before the performance"
    
3. Provide with a key
   "We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building"
    
4. Classify or apply the appropriate name to, e.g. in botany or biology
   "The botanist keyed out the plant species";
   - identify, discover, key out, distinguish, describe, name
    
5. Vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key
   "His new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot"

1. 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)
   - Francis Scott Key

Sounds like: kai, key, quay, cay, q

Derived forms: keyed, keying, keys, Keys

See also: important, of import

Type of: achene, attorney, building block, chord, coral reef, determine, device, explanation, furnish, harmonise [Brit], harmonize, kg, kilo, kilogram, kilogramme [Brit, Cdn], lawyer, lever, list, listing, mechanical device, musical notation, offer, pitch, poet, positive identification, provide, reconcile, render, set, space, supply, vandalise [Brit], vandalize

Part of: action, action mechanism, arch, basketball court, Everglade State, FL, Fla., Florida, keyboard, Sunshine State

Encyclopedia: Key, Ohio