Main entry: key
Definition: metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
Main entry: key
Definition: a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed
Main entry: key, keystone, headstone
Definition: the central building block at the top of an arch or vault
Definition: mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock)
Main entry: key
Definition: pitch of the voice
Usage: he spoke in a low key
Main entry: key
Definition: something crucial for explaining
Usage: the key to development is economic integration
Main entry: key
Definition: a generic term for any device whose possession entitles the holder to a means of access
Usage: a safe-deposit box usually requires two keys to open it
Main entry: key
Definition: a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations
Main entry: key
Definition: a list of answers to a test
Usage: some students had stolen the key to the final exam
Definition: any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music
Definition: (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
Usage: he hit a jump shot from the top of the key; he dominates play in the paint
Main entry: key, cay, Florida key
Definition: a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida
Main entry: Key, Francis Scott Key
Definition: 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)
Main entry: key, key fruit, samara
Definition: a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple
Main entry: key
Definition: a kilogram of a narcotic drug
Usage: they were carrying two keys of heroin
Main entry: key
Definition: harmonize with or adjust to
Usage: key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude
Main entry: key
Definition: regulate the musical pitch of
Main entry: discover, distinguish, describe, identify, key, key out, name
Definition: identify as in botany or biology, for example
Main entry: key
Definition: vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key
Usage: His new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot
Main entry: key
Definition: provide with a key
Usage: We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building
Main entry: cardinal, central, key, primal, fundamental
Definition: serving as an essential component
Usage: a cardinal rule; the central cause of the problem; an example that was fundamental to the argument; computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure