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noun
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.
4.
something that affords a means of access: the key to happiness.
5.
EXPANDsomething 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. Compare legend (def. 4).
9.
the system, method, pattern, etc., used to decode or decipher a cryptogram, as a code book, machine setting, or key word.
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.
a.
(in a keyboard instrument) one of the levers that when depressed by the performer sets in motion the playing mechanism.
b.
(on a woodwind instrument) a metal lever that opens and closes a vent.
c.
the relationship perceived between all tones in a given unit of music and a single tone or a keynote; tonality.
d.
the principal tonality of a composition: a symphony in the key of C minor.
e.
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.
Computers. 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.
a device for opening and closing electrical contacts.
b.
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.
Biology. a systematic tabular classification of the significant characteristics of the members of a group of organisms to facilitate identification and comparison.
23.
Masonry. a keystone.
24.
Architecture. (in a ribbed vault) a stone, as a boss, at the intersection of two or more ribs.
25.
Masonry, Carpentry. a wedge, as for tightening a joint or splitting a stone or timber.
26.
Carpentry. a small piece of wood set into a timber across the grain to prevent warping.
27.
Building Trades. any grooving or roughness applied to a surface to improve its bond with another surface.
28.
Basketball. keyhole (def. 2).
29.
Photography. 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.
Painting. the tonal value and intensity of a color or range of colors: Rembrandt's colors are characterized by their low key.
31.
Botany. a samara.
32.
(initial capital letter) a member of the House of Keys.
33.
COLLAPSEkeys, spiritual authority.
adjective
34.
chief; major; important; essential; fundamental; pivotal: a key person in the company; key industries.
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Keying
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
verb (used with object)
Verb phrases35.
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.
Music. to regulate the key or pitch of.
37.
Painting.
a.
to paint (a picture) in a given key.
b.
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.
EXPANDto provide with a key.
46.
47.
key on,
a.
Football. to watch the position and movements of an opponent in order to anticipate a play: The defensive backs keyed on the star receiver.
b.
Also, key in on. to single out as of prime importance or interest; be intent on or obsessed with: a company that is keyed in on growth.
48.
Idiomkey up,
a.
to bring to a particular degree of intensity of feeling, excitement, energy, nervousness, agitation, etc.: keyed up over the impending test.
b.
to raise (a piece of masonry) by the insertion of a wedge or wedges.
c.
to raise (the haunches of an arch) by the insertion of a voussoir.
49.
power of the keys, the authority of a pope in ecclesiastical matters, vested in him as successor of St. Peter.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English key(e), kay(e), Old English cǣg, cǣge; cognate with Old Frisian kei, kai
before 900; Middle English key(e), kay(e), Old English cǣg, cǣge; cognate with Old Frisian kei, kai
Synonyms
6. answer, explanation, resolution, clue.
6. answer, explanation, resolution, clue.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To keying
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
key
"low island," 1697, from Sp. cayo "shoal, reef," from Taino cayo "small island;" spelling infl. by M.E. key "wharf" (1306), from O.Fr. kai "sand bank" (see quay).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
key  (kē) Pronunciation Key
See cay. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
key definition
The main or central note of a piece of music (or part of a piece of music). Each key has its own scale, beginning and ending on the note that defines the octave of the next scale. The key of C-major uses a scale that starts on C and uses only the white keys of the piano. In a piece composed in the key of C, the music is likely to end on the note C, and certain combinations of notes based on C will predominate.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
K definition[ke]
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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