| key | | |
| n. (artifact) | 1. key | metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated. |
| ~ bit | the part of a key that enters a lock and lifts the tumblers. |
| ~ device | an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose.; "the device is small enough to wear on your wrist"; "a device intended to conserve water" |
| ~ ignition key | a key that operates the ignition switch of an automotive engine. |
| ~ latchkey | key for raising or drawing back a latch or opening an outside door. |
| ~ master key, passe-partout, passkey, master | key that secures entrance everywhere. |
| ~ shank, stem | cylinder forming a long narrow part of something. |
| n. (cognition) | 2. key | something crucial for explaining.; "the key to development is economic integration" |
| ~ explanation | thought that makes something comprehensible. |
| n. (attribute) | 3. key | pitch of the voice.; "he spoke in a low key" |
| ~ pitch | the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration. |
| n. (communication) | 4. key, tonality | any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music. |
| ~ musical notation | (music) notation used by musicians. |
| ~ major key, major mode | a key whose harmony is based on the major scale. |
| ~ minor key, minor mode | a key based on the minor scale. |
| ~ home key, tonic key | the basic key in which a piece of music is written. |
| n. (quantity) | 5. key | a kilogram of a narcotic drug.; "they were carrying two keys of heroin" |
| ~ argot, jargon, lingo, patois, vernacular, slang, cant | a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves).; "they don't speak our lingo" |
| ~ kg, kilo, kilogram | one thousand grams; the basic unit of mass adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites.; "a kilogram is approximately 2.2 pounds" |
| n. (plant) | 6. key, key fruit, samara | a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple. |
| ~ achene | small dry indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall. |
| n. (person) | 7. francis scott key, 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). |
| ~ attorney, lawyer | a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice. |
| ~ poet | a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry). |
| n. (object) | 8. cay, florida key, key | a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida. |
| ~ everglade state, fl, florida, sunshine state | a state in southeastern United States between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil War. |
| ~ coral reef | a reef consisting of coral consolidated into limestone. |
| n. (location) | 9. key, 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" |
| ~ basketball, basketball game, hoops | a game played on a court by two opposing teams of 5 players; points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal hoop. |
| ~ basketball court | the court on which basketball is played. |
| ~ foul line | a line from which basketball players take penalty shots. |
| ~ space | an area reserved for some particular purpose.; "the laboratory's floor space" |
| n. (communication) | 10. key | a list of answers to a test.; "some students had stolen the key to the final exam" |
| ~ list, listing | a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics). |
| n. (communication) | 11. key | a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations. |
| ~ list, listing | a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics). |
| ~ key word | a word that is used as a pattern to decode an encrypted message. |
| n. (communication) | 12. key | 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" |
| ~ positive identification | evidence proving that you are who you say you are; evidence establishing that you are among the group of people already known to the system; recognition by the system leads to acceptance.; "a system for positive identification can prevent the use of a single identity by several people" |
| n. (artifact) | 13. key, winder | mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock). |
| ~ mechanical device | mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles. |
| ~ watch key | winder consisting of a key with a square hole; used for winding some watches. |
| n. (artifact) | 14. headstone, key, keystone | the central building block at the top of an arch or vault. |
| ~ arch | (architecture) a masonry construction (usually curved) for spanning an opening and supporting the weight above it. |
| ~ building block | a block of material used in construction work. |
| ~ coign, coigne, quoin | the keystone of an arch. |
| n. (artifact) | 15. key | a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed. |
| ~ action mechanism, action | the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism.; "the piano had a very stiff action" |
| ~ backspace, backspace key, backspacer | the typewriter key used for back spacing. |
| ~ command key, control key | (computer science) the key on a computer keyboard that is used (in combination with some other key) to type control characters. |
| ~ keyboard | device consisting of a set of keys on a piano or organ or typewriter or typesetting machine or computer or the like. |
| ~ lever | a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum. |
| ~ return key, return | the key on electric typewriters or computer keyboards that causes a carriage return and a line feed. |
| ~ shift key, shift | the key on the typewriter keyboard that shifts from lower-case letters to upper-case letters. |
| ~ space bar | the bar-shaped typewriter key that introduces spaces when used. |
| ~ tab key, tab | the key on a typewriter or a word processor that causes a tabulation. |
| ~ telegraph key | key consisting of a lever that sends a telegraph signal when it is depressed and the circuit is closed. |
| v. (cognition) | 16. describe, discover, distinguish, identify, key, key out, name | identify as in botany or biology, for example. |
| ~ class, classify, sort out, assort, sort, separate | arrange or order by classes or categories.; "How would you classify these pottery shards--are they prehistoric?" |
| v. (possession) | 17. key | provide with a key.; "We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building" |
| ~ furnish, provide, supply, render | give something useful or necessary to.; "We provided the room with an electrical heater" |
| v. (contact) | 18. key | vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key.; "His new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot" |
| ~ vandalise, vandalize | destroy wantonly, as through acts of vandalism.; "vandalize the park" |
| v. (change) | 19. key | regulate the musical pitch of. |
| ~ music | (music) the sounds produced by singers or musical instruments (or reproductions of such sounds). |
| ~ chord, harmonise, harmonize | bring into consonance, harmony, or accord while making music or singing. |
| v. (change) | 20. key | harmonize with or adjust to.; "key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude" |
| ~ reconcile, harmonise, harmonize | bring into consonance or accord.; "harmonize one's goals with one's abilities" |
| adj. | 21. cardinal, central, fundamental, key, primal | 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" |
| ~ important, of import | of great significance or value.; "important people"; "the important questions of the day" |
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