skeleton key

See synonyms for skeleton key on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a key with nearly the whole substance of the bit filed away so that it may open various locks.

Origin of skeleton key

1
First recorded in 1800–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use skeleton key in a sentence

  • With an oath, Dundee used his skeleton key to release the Yale lock with which the front door was equipped.

    Murder at Bridge | Anne Austin
  • Or he came in with a skeleton key and out by the window, probably droppin' from the balcony.

  • "Come on," he said, thrusting his skeleton key into the inner door.

  • Was there a bank official to be264 bribed or a skeleton key to be made?

    Remarkable Rogues | Charles Kingston
  • So he took from his pocket an electric lantern and a skeleton key which he always carried.

British Dictionary definitions for skeleton key

skeleton key

noun
  1. a key with the serrated edge filed down so that it can open numerous locks: Also called: passkey

Origin of skeleton key

1
C19: so called because it has been reduced to its essential parts

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012