key

NOUNVERBADJECTIVE /ki/
3 LETTERS · 1 SYLLABLE · STARTS WITH K

key is a valid 3-letter word worth 10 points in Scrabble and 9 points in Words with Friends.

SCRABBLE WORDS WITH FRIENDS
K5E1Y4
5 + 1 + 4 =10 PTS
DOUBLE WORD → 20TRIPLE WORD → 30
MEANING

What does key mean?

NOUN · 15 SENSES
1

A coral reef off the southern coast of Florida.

BROADER
2

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”

3

A kilogram of a narcotic drug.

“they were carrying two keys of heroin”

4

A lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed.

BROADER
5

A list of answers to a test.

“some students had stolen the key to the final exam”

6

A list of words or phrases that explain symbols or abbreviations.

NARROWER
7

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

BROADER
8

Pitch of the voice.

“he spoke in a low key”

BROADER
9

Something crucial for explaining.

“the key to development is economic integration”

10

(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”

SYNONYMS
BROADER
11

Any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music.

SYNONYMS
12

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).

13

Mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven by a spring (as a clock).

SYNONYMS
NARROWER
14

The central building block at the top of an arch or vault.

15

A winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or elm or maple.

BROADER
VERB · 5 SENSES
1

Harmonize with or adjust to.

“key one's actions to the voters' prevailing attitude”

2

Provide with a key.

“We were keyed after the locks were changed in the building”

3

Regulate the musical pitch of.

4

Identify as in botany or biology, for example.

5

Vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key.

“His new Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot”

ADJECTIVE · 1 SENSE
1

Serving as an essential component.