How do you use the word "key" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "key": You took the wrong key. It was careless of you to lose the key.

Key Meaning

/kiː/

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounAn object designed to open and close a lock.

nounAn object designed to fit between two other objects (such as a shaft and a wheel) in a mechanism and maintain their relative orientation.

Sentence Examples

You took the wrong key.

It was careless of you to lose the key.

Trust is the key factor in building a successful long-term partnership.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

name important discover

Antonyms:

unimportant

CEFR Practice Quiz

He inserted the ____ into the padlock and turned it to unlock the gate.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The manager gave her a ____ to the main office so that she could start her work early the next morning.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English keye, kaye, keiȝe, from Old English cǣġ (“key, solution, experiment”) (whence also Scots key and kay (“key”)), from Anglo-Frisian Proto-West Germanic *kaiju, of uncertain origin. The only sure cognates are Saterland Frisian Koai (“key”), West Frisian kaai (“key”), and North Frisian kai, koie (“key”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *kēgaz, *kēguz (“stake, post, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵogʰ-, *ǵegʰ-, *ǵegʰn- (“branch, stake, bush”), which would make it cognate with Middle Low German kāk (“whipping post, pillory”), and perhaps to Middle Dutch keige (“javelin, spear”) and Middle Low German keie, keige (“spear”). For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door. Liberman has noted, however, "The original meaning of *kaig-jo- was presumably '*pin with a twisted end.' Words with the root *kai- followed by a consonant meaning 'crooked, bent; twisted' are common only in the North Germanic languages."

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time. 'Twas locked, of course, but the Deacon man got a big bunch of keys out of his pocket and commenced to putter with the lock." — 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

"Those who are accustomed to reason have got the true key of books." — a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC:

"who keeps the keys of all the creeds" — 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “(please specify |part=Prologue or Epilogue, or |canto=I to CXXIX)”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:

"The PEOPLE'S DAILY today front pages a news item in column one in the experience of Yuhsi County in Yunnan which "mastered the law of agricultural field management, and found the key to increasing autumn grain production."" — 1960 August 29 [1960 August 26], “Higher Autum Grain Yield is Possible”, in Daily Report: Foreign Radio Broadcasts, number 168, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Peking NCNA, translation of original in Chinese, →OCLC, Communist China: National Affairs, page BBB 2-BBB 3:

"A girl, it is true, has always lived in a glass house among reproving relatives, whose word was law; she has been bred up to sacrifice her judgments and take the key submissively from dear papa; and it is wonderful how swiftly she can change her tune into the husband's." — 1881, R.L. Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:

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