Noun Definition

key

1.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

"He hit a jump shot from the top of the key", "He dominates play in the paint"

Related Noun(s):paint

Category: Places

2.Definition: a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida

Related Noun(s):cay

Category: Objects

3.Definition: 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"

Category: General

4.Definition: a kilogram of a narcotic drug

"They were carrying two keys of heroin"

Category: General

5.Definition: a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed

Category: Objects

6.Definition: a list of answers to a test

"Some students had stolen the key to the final exam"

Category: General

7.Definition: a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations

Category: General

8.Definition: a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple

Related Noun(s):key fruit, samara

Category: Plants

9.Definition: any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music

Related Noun(s):tonality

Category: General

10.Definition: mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock)

Related Noun(s):winder

Category: Objects

11.Definition: metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated

Category: Objects

12.Definition: pitch of the voice

"He spoke in a low key"

Category: General

13.Definition: something crucial for explaining

"The key to development is economic integration"

Category: General

14.Definition: the central building block at the top of an arch or vault

Related Noun(s):headstone, keystone

Category: Objects

15.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)

Related Noun(s):francis scott key

Category: People