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say it: kee
key is a noun, verb and adjective meaning "metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated". It is pronounced /ˈki/ — kee. It carries 21 recorded senses.
something crucial for explaining
“the key to development is economic integration”
any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music
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)
a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida
(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
“he hit a jump shot from the top of the key”
“he dominates play in the paint”
basketball
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”
mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock)
the central building block at the top of an arch or vault
a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed
vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key
“His new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot”
serving as an essential component
“a cardinal rule”
“the central cause of the problem”
“an example that was fundamental to the argument”
“computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for key come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.