key

[US]/kiː/
[UK]/kiː/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

n. a small piece of shaped metal with incisions cut to fit the wards of a particular lock, which is inserted into a lock and turned to open or close it; a vital or decisive importance in relation to what follows; a button on a typewriter or computer keyboard
vt. enter (data) by means of a keyboard or keypad; adjust or set (the frequency of an instrument) to a particular value
vi. use a key to open or close something
adj. of great importance or significance; crucial or critical

Phrases & Collocations

lost key

key ingredient

key point

key factor

key in

on key

key issue

key link

key component

public key

key management

key project

key phrase

key position

key parameter

key word

key area

key chain

key on

private key

press any key

key way

Example Sentences

the key of B flat.

the grate of a key in a lock.

the key of E minor.

an etude in the key of E.

The key stuck in the lock.

the keys of a typewriter

a key to the grammar exercises

Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.

Turn the key anticlockwise.

Diligence is the key to success.

The key fell on the ground with a jingle.

the key areas of science.

hit the return key by mistake.

he put the key in the ignition.

the key to quality and efficiency is professionalism.

a bronze trifoliate key handle.

the ebony keys on a piano

This key admits to the garden.

Real-world Examples

Mrs Hughes, can I borrow the duplicate keys for upstairs?

Source: Downton Abbey (Audio Segmented Version) Season 2

A decades old technology long shunned by science may hold the key.

Source: CNN 10 Student English November 2018 Collection

What sober man's key could have scored those grooves?

Source: The Sign of the Four

And some say farm finance is the key.

Source: Things of the World

I could hear him turning the key in the lock.

Source: Jane Eyre (Abridged Version)

What if we already have the keys?

Source: 2020 Celebrity College Graduation Speech

And that's the key to trying to communicate.

Source: TED Talks (Audio Version) February 2016 Collection

They were asked to unscramble anagrams without using an answer key—which was available.

Source: Science in 60 Seconds Listening Compilation July 2013

And in sociology, theoretical paradigms are key.

Source: Sociology Crash Course

Well, that sounds like a key ingredient.

Source: The Scorpion and the Frog Season 3

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