metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
<noun.artifact>
something crucial for explaining
<noun.cognition> the key to development is economic integration
pitch of the voice
<noun.attribute> he spoke in a low key
any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music
<noun.communication>
a kilogram of a narcotic drug
<noun.quantity> they were carrying two keys of heroin
a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple
<noun.plant>
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)
<noun.person>
a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida
<noun.object>
(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
<noun.location> he hit a jump shot from the top of the key he dominates play in the paint
a list of answers to a test
<noun.communication> some students had stolen the key to the final exam
a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations
<noun.communication>
a generic term for any device whose possession entitles the holder to a means of access
<noun.communication> a safe-deposit box usually requires two keys to open it
mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock)
<noun.artifact>
the central building block at the top of an arch or vault
<noun.artifact>
a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed
<adj.all> a cardinal rule the central cause of the problem an example that was fundamental to the argument computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure
Key \Key\ (k[=e]), n. [OE. keye, key, kay, AS. c[ae]g.] 1. An instrument by means of which the bolt of a lock is shot or drawn; usually, a removable metal instrument fitted to the mechanism of a particular lock and operated by turning in its place.
2. A small device which is inserted into a mechanism and turned like a key to fasten, adjust, or wind it; as, a watch key; a bed key; the winding key for a clock, etc.
3. One of a set of small movable parts on an instrument or machine which, by being depressed, serves as the means of operating it; the complete set of keys is usually called the keyboard; as, the keys of a piano, an organ, an accordion, a computer keyboard, or of a typewriter. The keys may operate parts of the instrument by a mechanical action, as on a piano, or by closing an electrical circuit, as on a computer keyboard. See also senses 12 and 13. [1913 Webster +PJC]
4. A position or condition which affords entrance, control, pr possession, etc.; as, the key of a line of defense; the key of a country; the key of a political situation. Hence, that which serves to unlock, open, discover, or solve something unknown or difficult; as, the key to a riddle; the key to a problem. Similarly, see also senses 14 and 15.
Those who are accustomed to reason have got the true key of books. --Locke.
Who keeps the keys of all the creeds. --Tennyson.
5. That part of a mechanism which serves to lock up, make fast, or adjust to position.
6. (Arch.) (a) A piece of wood used as a wedge. (b) The last board of a floor when laid down.
7. (Masonry) (a) A keystone. (b) That part of the plastering which is forced through between the laths and holds the rest in place.
8. (Mach.) (a) A wedge to unite two or more pieces, or adjust their relative position; a cotter; a forelock. See Illusts. of {Cotter}, and {Gib}. (b) A bar, pin or wedge, to secure a crank, pulley, coupling, etc., upon a shaft, and prevent relative turning; sometimes holding by friction alone, but more frequently by its resistance to shearing, being usually embedded partly in the shaft and partly in the crank, pulley, etc.
9. (Bot.) An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a wing, as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara; -- called also {key fruit}.
10. (Mus.) (a) A family of tones whose regular members are called diatonic tones, and named key tone (or tonic) or one (or eight), mediant or three, dominant or five, subdominant or four, submediant or six, supertonic or two, and subtonic or seven. Chromatic tones are temporary members of a key, under such names as `` sharp four,'' ``flat seven,'' etc. Scales and tunes of every variety are made from the tones of a key. (b) The fundamental tone of a movement to which its modulations are referred, and with which it generally begins and ends; keynote.
Both warbling of one song, both in one key. --Shak.
11. Fig: The general pitch or tone of a sentence or utterance.
You fall at once into a lower key. --Cowper.
12. (Teleg.) A metallic lever by which the circuit of the sending or transmitting part of a station equipment may be easily and rapidly opened and closed; as, a telegraph key. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
13. any device for closing or opening an electric circuit, especially as part of a keyboard, as that used at a computer terminal or teletype terminal. [PJC]
14. A simplified version or analysis which accompanies something as a clue to its explanation, a book or table containing the solutions to problems, ciphers, allegories, or the like; or (Biol.) a table or synopsis of conspicuous distinguishing characters of members of a taxonomic group. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
15. (Computers) A word or other combination of symbols which serves as an index identifying and pointing to a particular record, file, or location which can be retrieved and displayed by a computer program; as, a database using multi-word keys. When the key is a word, it is also called a {keyword}. [PJC]
{Key bed}. Same as {Key seat}.
{Key bolt}, a bolt which has a mortise near the end, and is secured by a cotter or wedge instead of a nut.
{Key bugle}. See {Kent bugle}.
{Key of a position} or {Key of a country.} (Mil.) See {Key}, 4.
{Key seat} (Mach.), a bed or groove to receive a key which prevents one part from turning on the other.
{Key way}, a channel for a key, in the hole of a piece which is keyed to a shaft; an internal key seat; -- called also {key seat}.
{Key wrench} (Mach.), an adjustable wrench in which the movable jaw is made fast by a key.
{Power of the keys} (Eccl.), the authority claimed by the ministry in some Christian churches to administer the discipline of the church, and to grant or withhold its privileges; -- so called from the declaration of Christ, ``I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.'' --Matt. xvi. 19.
Key \Key\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Keved}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Keying}.] 1. To fasten or secure firmly; to fasten or tighten with keys or wedges. --Francis.
2. (Computers) To enter (text, data) using keys, especially those on a keyboard; to keyboard; as, to key the data in by hand. [PJC]
3. To adjust so as to be maximally effective in a particular situation; -- of actions, plans, or speech; as, to key one's campaign speech to each local audience. [PJC]
4. To furnish with a key or keys. [PJC]
{To key up}. (a) (Arch.) To raise (the whole ring of an arch) off its centering, by driving in the keystone forcibly. (b) (Mus.) To raise the pitch of. (c) Hence, (fig.), to produce nervous tension in; as, the whole team was keyed up for the championship game.
key \key\, a. Essential; most important; as, the key fact in the inquiry; the president was the key player inthe negotiations. [PJC]
Quay \Quay\, n. [F. quai. See {Key} quay.] A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels. [Written also {key}.]
Cotter \Cot"ter\ (k[o^]t"t[~e]r), n. 1. A piece of wood or metal, commonly wedge-shaped, used for fastening together parts of a machine or structure. It is driven into an opening through one or all of the parts.
Note: [See Illust.] In the United States a cotter is commonly called a {key}.
2. A toggle.
Maronites have controlled key government posts, the army and judiciary since independence from France in 1943.
It's the key to good and productive lives, they say.
Bergsten said the key test will come in whether the United States is willing to share decision-making on international issues as it seeks funding help from other countries.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's key index plunged after nervous fluctuations today, while the dollar continued its upward trend against the Japanese yen.
Orders for durable goods, a key benchmark for the economy, surged 6.7 percent in March, and purchasing managers reported that the manufacturing economy expanded for the first time in 11 months in April.
Rep. E. Thomas Coleman, R-Mo., a key figure in House negotiations on the endowment's future, said the report could serve as the possible framework for a compromise.
As in watering, "once established" are the key words.
Other key issues, he says, will include details of how the single market will work, environmental, consumer and social issues and the EEC's relationship with the rest of the world.
Most of the data, though, is generated on the plant floor and the key is to be able to get hold of it quickly and flexibly. For example, all incoming components from suppliers are barcoded, and the information is downloaded into the database.
The Du Pont Co. said Wednesday its second-quarter profit jumped 27 percent because gains in a number of key businesses.
But President Fujimori was relying on APRA's support to pass several key packages of legislation, including approval of his hand-picked Central Bank president.
The draft bills specifically focus on one of the administration bill's key proposalsgranting oversight of futures margins to a federal agency.
The Fed appears to be allowing a key short-term rate to rise in a bid to restrain inflation.
Stock and bond markets were battered Friday after major commercial banks and the Federal Reserve boosted key lending rates as the central bank toughened its fight against inflation.
"The key here is early treatment," Ms. Ho said in a telephone interview Thursday.
There are two key points.
Although the bill does not specifically address the cost of Operation Desert Shield, expected to total $15 billion in fiscal 1991, sea lifts and projects such as the M-1 tank are key to the U.S. buildup in the gulf.
The key documents involved generally were Defense Department five-year spending plans.
The dollar plunged against the Japanese yen Wednesday, while the key index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange erased early gains and fell back.
He was also known before the invasion to have his sights on Warba and Bubiyan, which would provide Iraq with key sea links.
We have just seen this in the UK, where a record for net sales was set in March. Mutual fund sales have, of course, long been a key indicator for contrarian investors.
Under the threat of Iraqi missiles and air raids, Iranians vote Friday for a new parliament that will be a key factor in determining the course of the Islamic revolution.
One major theme emerging from Mr. Bush's trip to Kiev, an ancient city dotted with golden-domed churches, was the key role of personal liberty in assuring the prosperity of a state.
But there's no uniform look and individuality remains the key fashion word in the British collections, being shown through Tuesday.
Mrs. Scott said her husband played a key role in the 1986 resettlement of a group of more than 200 of the Montagnard people from Vietnam, most of whom settled in Greensboro, N.C.
Huebl, a key ideologist of the communist-led reforms of Alexander Dubcek that were crushed by a Soviet-led invasion, served as director of the Communist Party Academy during that brief period.
He recommends the same strategy with platinum: As prices rise above key technical levels, in this case $382.50, investors shouldn't liquidate but simply raise their stop-loss orders to higher price levels.
"It addresses key areas of importance to both of us," he said, citing operational efficiency, training, job security and compensation.
Also retained was Foreign Secretary Raul Manglapus, who was widely criticized for sloppy management of a department where former Marcos supporters hold key positions.
About a quarter of the voters said the poor and elderly were a key issue to them, and Jackson won that group, 52 percent to 44 percent for Dukakis.