Meaning & Definition of Key in English

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

• "The key to development is economic integration"

3. Pitch of the voice

• "He spoke in a low key"

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

• "They were carrying two keys of heroin"

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

• "He hit a jump shot from the top of the key"

• "He dominates play in the paint"

10. A list of answers to a test

• "Some students had stolen the key to the final exam"

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

• "A safe-deposit box usually requires two keys to open it"

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 (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed

1. Identify as in botany or biology, for example

2. Provide with a key

• "We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building"

3. Vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key

• "His new mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot"

4. Regulate the musical pitch of

5. Harmonize with or adjust to

• "Key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude"

1. 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"