tool for lock
1 a specially shaped piece of metal used for locking a door, starting a car, etc:
to insert / turn the key in the lock * the car keys * a bunch of keys * the spare key to the front door * We'll have a duplicate key cut (= made). * There's a special key for winding up this clock.
most important thing
2 [usuallysing.] ~ (to sth) a thing that makes you able to understand or achieve sth:
The key to success is preparation. * The driver of the car probably holds the key to solving the crime. * (especially AmE) The key is, how long can the federal government control the inflation rate?
on computer
3 any of the buttons that you press to operate a computer or TYPEWRITER:
Press the return key to enter the information.
on musical instrument
4 any of the wooden or metal parts that you press to play a piano and some other musical instruments
music
5 a set of related notes, based on a particular note. Pieces of music are usually written mainly using a particular key:
a sonata in the key of E flat major * This piece changes key many times.
compareSCALEn.(7)
answers
6 a set of answers to exercises or problems:
Check your answers in the key at the back of the book.
on map
7 an explanation of the symbols used on a map or plan
seealsoLOW-KEY
IDIOMS see LOCKn.
verb [VN] ~ sth (in)
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About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for key is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Is key a noun, verb, or something else?
In this entry, key is tagged as noun.
Does key appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — key appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
