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key English

Meaning key meaning

What does key mean?
Definitions in simple English

key

A key is a small instrument, usually metal used to open locks. I put my key in the lock and turned it. A key is a button used for typing. Type your name and hit the ENTER key. A key is the part of a keyboard instrument you press with your fingers to play a sound. The piano has a pattern of black and white keys. The key in music is the tonal centre of a piece of music. Mozart's Symphony No.40 is written in the key of G minor.

key

Something that is key, is an important or a main thing. Accuracy is a key part of playing music.

key

To key is to lock something with key, or like using a key. To key is to put locks on a building. The locksmith was called in to key the building for better security. To key is to enter information into a computer. He keyed in all the data from the survey.

key

metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated (= cardinal, central, fundamental) serving as an essential component a cardinal rule the central cause of the problem an example that was fundamental to the argument computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure something crucial for explaining the key to development is economic integration pitch of the voice he spoke in a low key any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music (= identify) identify as in botany or biology, for example vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key His new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot provide with a key We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building 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 a list of answers to a test some students had stolen the key to the final exam a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed a kilogram of a narcotic drug they were carrying two keys of heroin regulate the musical pitch of harmonize with or adjust to key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida (= paint) (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 he hit a jump shot from the top of the key he dominates play in the paint (= keystone) the central building block at the top of an arch or vault (= winder) mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock) (= samara) a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple

Key

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 key synonyms

What other words have the same or similar meaning as key?

Key English » English

Francis Scott Key

Topics key topics

What do people use key to talk about?

Conjugation key conjugation

How do you conjugate key?

key · verb

Examples key examples

How do I use key in a sentence?

Simple sentences

I have lost my key.
My room key, please.
She put the key in her bag.
Tom adjusted the seat, put in the key, and then drove away.
Does Tom have a key to Mary's apartment?
Does Tom have a key?
Tom turned the key.
You will need a key.
Do you still have a key?
Tom has lost his car key.
Tom was afraid he'd lost his key.
Here, use my key.
Do you know where the key to this is?
The key question is not what can I gain but what do I have to lose.
You took the wrong key.
Where was it that you found this key?
There is a key on the desk.
As I left the house, I remembered the key.
While swimming in the pool, she lost her locker key.
Where did you find the key?
After I shut the door, I remembered I had left my key behind.
I lost the door key, so I can't enter the house.
The key word is equality.
The minister appointed one of his cronies to a key position.
The boy was searching for the lost key.
The key is on the desk.
We tend to forget that exercise is a key to good health.
New Year's Day is the key to the year.
After asking for my key at the front desk, I took the elevator to my floor.
Don't play with that key!

Movie subtitles

Loans to the Crown became the key to urban autonomy.
The key question is; how far down does the water persist beneath the surface and if you go far enough, is the pressure and temperature high enough that the water would be liquid, not in the form of ice?
The key now is to go back in there, dig out these pieces and see if we can find any survivors, literally survivors.
Nah, I wanna keep this low-key.
On that key ring will be a key to Pete London's office.
You still have the key, am I right?
You see this key?
She stole this key and copied it here at this store.
Uh, no, actually I. came to get a couple copies of a key made.
Two copies of this key please.
The helicopter is key.
The key in the lamp.
The key is always in her bag.
Madam, here is the key to your house.
Madam, here is the key - to your house. - Thank you.
There's your key, lady.
Can't you find me a key?
Key for 515, please.
My key, 168.
Have you got the skeleton key?
Here's the key of the boathouse.
What has a trunk but no key, weighs 2,000 pounds.
Is there a key to that door?
A key, sir?
When he saw me, he slammed the door and turned the key.
You were off-key.
The key problem is the degree of the economic sanction.
NATHANIEL: The key to good planning is good organization.
And the key to good organization is foresight.
The key in the lamp, I know you found it.
Sometime during the evening. I might be able to get the key out of her bag.
Did you get the key?
You got the key?
Take the key and go sleep at our house.
And you had to give the old fogey a key?
Say, can you let me have another key for a friend of mine?
Oh, here's the key.
Have you a key, sir?

News and current affairs

But the West's key features, democracy and the rule of law, have taken a far more severe battering at the hands of their defenders than by their attackers.
Now the key is to make this effort work.
In this connection, Pakistan views the Karzai government in Kabul as unfriendly to Islamabad and a threat to its key strategic interests.
If so, then a key condition must be the self-respect that comes from working things out for ourselves, individually and collectively.
Likewise, indigenous development played a key role in Japan and Germany after WWII, in South Korea more recently, and the UK long before.
One key tool is the mobile phone.
But first, all countries must integrate climate concerns into policy planning, and improve their governance in key sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and transport.
The key to investment strategy is to get domestic entrepreneurs excited about the home economy.
Learning what a country is (or can be) good at producing is a key challenge of economic development.
A key point here is that institutional arrangements are, by necessity, country-specific.
Herbivorous fish are key players on coral reefs.
Unfortunately, Germany resists all of these key policy measures, as it is fixated on the credit risk to which its taxpayers would be exposed with greater economic, fiscal, and banking integration.
A growing flood of data shows that death rates in many poor countries are falling sharply, and that aid-supported programs for health-care delivery have played a key role.
In fact, real peace in the Caucasus requires two key strategic transformations.
Europe, of course, has no significant centralized tax authority, so this key automatic stabilizer is essentially absent.
But, to the hawks who now control Israeli politics, the key to Israel's security depends on depth of defense, for which expansion of the settlements is indispensable.
The second key challenge that we will face during our European presidency is that of Russia.
Moreover, the delayed implementation of key elements of the EU's association agreement with Ukraine is clear evidence that, at the moment, Russia dictates the terms of EU-Ukrainian engagement.
And exports of raw materials to China, India, Europe, and the US - a key factor in Africa's recent growth surge - may suffer simply because the global slowdown means less consumption everywhere.
The other key reason behind the world's silence is that the Sri Lankan government was relentless in banning independent observers - media, NGOs, or diplomats - from witnessing or reporting on its actions.
But it does facilitate a full and rigorous public debate over key questions of a state's foreign and domestic policies.
The key is to capture the window of opportunity for industrialization arising from the relocation of light manufacturing from higher-income countries.
All Arab nations have agreed to full recognition of Israel if it will comply with key United Nations resolutions.
The Republican-backed crusade against a key agreement negotiated by a Democratic president, with his party's overwhelming support, has threatened the bipartisan foundations of Israel's cause in America.
For the last four years, the LDP had shown itself to be utterly unresponsive to the key issues of popular concern: pensions, unemployment, and the fraying social safety net.