1. a small metal instrument specially cut to fit into a lock and move its bolt.
2. any of various devices resembling or functioning as a key: the key of a clock.
3. key card.
4. something that affords a means of access: the key to happiness.
5. something that secures or controls entrance to a place: Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.
6. something that affords a means of clarifying a problem.
7. a book, pamphlet, or other text containing the solutions or translations of material given elsewhere, as testing exercises.
8. a systematic explanation of abbreviations, symbols, etc., used in a dictionary, map, etc.: pronunciation key.
9. the system, method, pattern, etc., used to decode or decipher a cryptogram, as a code book, machine setting, or keyword.
10. one of a set of marked parts, designated areas, or levers pressed in operating a typewriter, computer terminal, calculator, etc.
11. a manually operated lever for opening and closing an electric circuit, used to produce signals in telegraphy.
12. Music.
• (in a keyboard instrument) one of the levers that when depressed by the performer sets in motion the playing mechanism.
• (on a woodwind instrument) a metal lever that opens and closes a vent.
• the relationship perceived between all tones in a given unit of music and a single tone or a keynote; tonality.
• the principal tonality of a composition: a symphony in the key of C minor.
• the keynote or tonic of a scale.
13. tone or pitch, as of voice: to speak in a high key.
14. mood or characteristic style, as of expression or thought: He writes in a melancholy key.
15. degree of intensity, as of feeling or action.
16. a pin, bolt, wedge, or other piece inserted in a hole or space to lock or hold parts of a mechanism or structure together; a cotter.
17. a small piece of steel fitting into matching slots of a hub of a wheel or the like and the shaft on which the wheel is mounted so that torque is transmitted from one to the other.
18. a contrivance for grasping and turning a bolt, nut, etc.
19. a field or group of characters within a record that identifies the record, establishing its position among sorted records, and/or provides information about its contents.
20. (in a series of advertisements or announcements soliciting replies) a unique code inserted for each medium used, to determine the relative effectiveness of the media.
21. Electricity.
• a device for opening and closing electrical contacts.
• a hand-operated switching device ordinarily formed of concealed spring contacts with an exposed handle or push button, capable of switching one or more parts of a circuit.
22. a systematic tabular classification of the significant characteristics of the members of a group of organisms to facilitate identification and comparison.
23. a keystone.
24. (in a ribbed vault) a stone, as a boss, at the intersection of two or more ribs.
25. a wedge, as for tightening a joint or splitting a stone or timber.
26. a small piece of wood set into a timber across the grain to prevent warping.
27. any grooving or roughness applied to a surface to improve its bond with another surface.
28. keyhole (def. 2).
29. the dominant tonal value of a picture, a high-key picture having light tonal values and minimal contrast and a low-key picture being generally dark with minimal contrast.
30. the tonal value and intensity of a color or range of colors: Rembrandt's colors are characterized by their low key.
31. a samara.
32. a member of the House of Keys.
33. spiritual authority.

34. essential; central; important: a key person in the company;key industries.

35. to regulate or adjust (actions, thoughts, speech, etc.) to a particular state or activity; bring into conformity: to key one's speech to the intellectual level of the audience.
36. to regulate the key or pitch of.
37. Painting.
• to paint (a picture) in a given key.
• to adjust the colors in (a painting) to a particular hue: He keyed the painting to brown.
38. to fasten, secure, or adjust with a key, wedge, or the like, as parts of a mechanism.
39. to provide with a key.
40. (in the layout of newspapers, magazines, etc.) to identify, through signs or symbols, the positions of illustrations or pieces of copy in a dummy.
41. to lock with or as if with a key.
42. to provide (an arch or vault) with a keystone.
43. keyboard (def. 4).

44. to use a key.
45. keyboard (def. 4).

46. keyboard (def. 4).
47. key on,
• to watch the position and movements of an opponent in order to anticipate a play: The defensive backs keyed on the star receiver.
• to single out as of prime importance or interest; be intent on or obsessed with: a company that is keyed in on growth.
48. key up,
• to bring to a particular degree of intensity of feeling, excitement, energy, nervousness, agitation, etc.: keyed up over the impending test.
• to raise (a piece of masonry) by the insertion of a wedge or wedges.
• to raise (the haunches of an arch) by the insertion of a voussoir.

49. the authority of a pope in ecclesiastical matters, vested in him as successor of St. Peter.

1. a reef or low island; cay.

1. a kilogram of marijuana or other narcotic drug.

1. U.S. lawyer: author of The Star-Spangled Banner.

1. a metal instrument, usually of a specifically contoured shape, that is made to fit a lock and, when rotated, operates the lock's mechanism
2. any instrument that is rotated to operate a valve, clock winding mechanism, etc
3. a small metal peg or wedge inserted into keyways
4. any of a set of levers operating a typewriter, computer, etc
5. any of the visible parts of the lever mechanism of a musical keyboard instrument that when depressed set in motion the action that causes the instrument to sound
• any of the 24 major and minor diatonic scales considered as a corpus of notes upon which a piece of music draws for its tonal framework
• the main tonal centre in an extended composition
• the tonic of a major or minor scale
• See tuning key
7. something that is crucial in providing an explanation or interpretation
8. a means of achieving a desired end
9. a means of access or control
10. a list of explanations of symbols, codes, etc
11. a text that explains or gives information about a work of literature, art, or music
12. the correct initial move in the solution of a set problem
13. a systematic list of taxonomic characteristics, used to identify animals or plants
14. the dominant tonal value and colour intensity of a picture
15. electrical engineering
• a hand-operated device for opening or closing a circuit or for switching circuits
• a hand-operated switch that is pressed to transmit coded signals, esp Morse code
16. the grooving or scratching of a surface or the application of a rough coat of plaster, etc, to provide a bond for a subsequent finish
17. pitch
18. a characteristic mood or style
19. level of intensity
20. a wooden wedge placed between a rail and a chair to keep the rail firmly in place
21. a wedge for tightening a joint or for splitting stone or timber
22. short for keystone (def. 1)
23. any dry winged fruit, esp that of the ash
24. determining the tonal value of a photograph

25. of great importance; crucial

26. to harmonize (with)
27. to adjust or fasten with a key or some similar device
28. to provide with a key or keys
29. to scratch the paintwork of (a car) with a key
30. to locate the position of (a piece of copy, artwork, etc) on a layout by the use of symbols
31. (also intr) another word for keyboard (def. 3)
32. to include a distinguishing device in (an advertisement, etc), so that responses to it can be identified
33. to provide a keystone for (an arch)

1. a variant spelling of cay

1. John (Phillip). born 1961, New Zealand politician; prime minister from 2008

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