key

Study(34)

UK /kiː/ US /ki/

noun 8verb 5adj 2name 1

Collocations

(noun.) for a door

ADJ

master, skeleton | duplicate, spare | car, desk, front door, house, ignition, etc.

QUANT

bunch, set

She found a bunch of keys in her bag and finally opened the door.

VERB + KEY

turn

He turned the key and opened the front door to his new apartment.

insert, put in | remove, take out

use

I used the wrong key to open my office door this morning.

KEY + VERB

open, unlock

I lost my house key, so I couldn't unlock the front door yesterday.

lock

turn

The landlord's key turned slowly in the old wooden door of the apartment.

PREP

with a/the ~

I opened the locked door with a key I found in the drawer.

~ to

Good communication is the key to building strong relationships with friends and family.

PHRASES

get a key cut

I need to have a spare key cut for my apartment door before I lose the original one.

(noun.) on a computer

ADJ

Alt, arrow, backspace, control, delete, escape, function, return, shift, etc.

shortcut

To save time, I always use the shortcut key instead of clicking through menus.

QUANT

row

The bottom row of keys on the piano was slightly out of tune.

VERB + KEY

hit, hold down, press, touch

To save your document, you need to press the Ctrl key and the letter S at the same time.

release

(noun.) explanation of symbols, etc.

KEY + VERB

tell sb sth

The instruction manual's key tells readers which buttons control the volume.

PREP

in a/the ~

Looking at the map legend, I found that the different colors were explained in the key.

~ to

Understanding your own emotions is the key to building better relationships with others.

(noun.) decisive factor

VERB + KEY

have, hold

Young people have the key to solving many of the world's biggest problems.

PREP

~ to

Regular exercise is the key to maintaining good health as you get older.

(noun.) in music

ADJ

major, minor | high, low

VERB + KEY

change

KEY + VERB

change

The musical key changed halfway through the song, surprising most of the audience members.

KEY + NOUN

change

signature

The piano piece opens with a distinctive key signature that tells musicians which notes to play.

PREP

in a/the ~

The song was originally written in a major key, but the band decided to perform it in a minor key instead.

~ of

The song was written in the key of D major, which made it perfect for her soprano voice.

Definitions

noun

An object designed to open and close a lock.

We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time. 'Twas locked, of course, but the Deacon man got a big bunch of keys out of his pocket and commenced to putter with the lock.

An object designed to fit between two other objects (such as a shaft and a wheel) in a mechanism and maintain their relative orientation.

A crucial step or requirement.

The key to solving this problem is persistence.

the key to winning a game

A small guide explaining symbols or terminology, especially the legend on a map or chart.

The key says that A stands for the accounting department.

A guide to the correct answers of a worksheet or test.

Some students cheated by using the answer key.

adj

Indispensable, supremely important.

He is the key player on his soccer team.

Paradoxically enough, however, in general only the parties of the Left have done most to spread the belief that it was the numerical strength of the opposing material interests which decided political issues, whereas in practice these same parties have regularly and successfully acted as if they understood the key position of the intellectuals.

Important, salient.

She makes several key points.

Throughout the 1500s, the populace roiled over a constellation of grievances of which the forest emerged as a key focal point. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.

verb

To fit (a lock) with a key.

To fit (pieces of a mechanical assembly) with a key to maintain the orientation between them.

To mark or indicate with a symbol indicating membership in a class.

So I worked on a tissue-paper copy of the perimeter plan, outlining groupings of plants of the same species and keying them with letters for the species.

The volume closes with thirty pages of "Notes, critical and explanatory," in which Thomson provides seventy-six longer or shorter notes keyed to specific sections of the synopsis.

To depress (a telegraph key).

To operate (the transmitter switch of a two-way radio).

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — the central building block at the top of an arch or vault

noun — mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven

winder

noun — any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the to

tonality

noun — (basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of t

paint

noun — a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida

noun — a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or e

samara

verb — identify as in botany or biology, for example

adjective — serving as an essential component

Antonyms

atonality
atonalism

Idioms & Phrases

throw away the key

To never release someone (e.g., from prison).

Let's get these men together in a room and I would suggest feed them bread and water and throw away the key until they come together

under lock and key

Imprisoned with little or no chance of escape; locked up.

If it was him we can have him under lock and key in 24 hours.

a golden key can open any door

Sufficient money can accomplish anything.

lock someone up and throw away the key

To lock someone up in prison indefinitely.

in a minor key

In a restrained manner; on a small or limited scale.

Example Bank

Wiktionary

The key to solving this problem is persistence.

Wiktionary

the key to winning a game

Wiktionary

He is the key player on his soccer team.

Wiktionary

Lukas intimates that one of Disney's key attractions was "Main Street USA,” which "mimicked a downtown business district just as Southdale" had done.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, key is marked as slang. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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