📖 WordNook

key

noun
  1. a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple
    samarakey fruit
  2. a kilogram of a narcotic drug
    “they were carrying two keys of heroin”
  3. metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
  4. a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed
  5. the central building block at the top of an arch or vault
    headstonekeystone
  6. mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock)
    winder
  7. pitch of the voice
    “They spoke in a low key.”
  8. something crucial for explaining
    “the key to development is economic integration”
  9. 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”
  10. a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations
  11. a list of answers to a test
    “some students had stolen the key to the final exam”
  12. any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music
    tonality
  13. (basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of the basket at each end of a basketball court
    paint
  14. a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida
    cay
verb
  1. harmonize with or adjust to
    “key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude”
  2. regulate the musical pitch of
  3. identify as in botany or biology, for example
    name
  4. vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key
    “My new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot.”
  5. provide with a key
    “We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building”
adjective
  1. serving as an essential component
    central