adjective serving as an essential component.
— synonyms: cardinal, central, fundamental, primal
verb identify as in botany or biology, for example.
— synonyms: identify, discover, key_out, distinguish, describe, name
verb provide with a key.
verb vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key.
verb regulate the musical pitch of.
verb harmonize with or adjust to.
noun metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated.
noun something crucial for explaining.
noun pitch of the voice.
noun any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music.
— synonyms: tonality
noun a kilogram of a narcotic drug.
noun a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple.
— synonyms: samara, key_fruit
noun United States lawyer and poet who wrote a poem after witnessing the British attack on Baltimore during the War of 1812.
— synonyms: Francis_Scott_Key
noun a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida.
— synonyms: cay, Florida_key
noun (basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of the basket at each end of a basketball court.
— synonyms: paint
noun a list of answers to a test.
noun a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations.
noun a generic term for any device whose possession entitles the holder to a means of access.
noun mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock).
— synonyms: winder
noun the central building block at the top of an arch or vault.
— synonyms: keystone, headstone
noun a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed.
Examples
“The key to solving this problem is persistence.”
“The key says that A stands for the accounting department.”