keys

key¹

C0177600 (kē)n. pl. keys 1. a. A notched and grooved, usually metal implement that is turned to open or close a lock.b. A similar implement or an electronic device used for opening, winding, or starting something: the key of a wind-up alarm clock; the new car's electronic key. c. A device, such as a wedge or pin, inserted to lock together mechanical or structural parts.d. A keycard.2. A determining factor in accomplishing or achieving something: One key to the store's success has been consistent customer service.3. a. Something that provides access to or understanding of something else: The key to the mystery was a drug store receipt.b. A set of answers to a test.c. A table, gloss, or cipher containing correspondences, as for decoding or interpreting something.d. Computers A number used by a cryptographic algorithm to encrypt or decrypt data.4. Architecture The keystone in the crown of an arch.5. a. A button or lever that is depressed to operate a machine.b. A button that is depressed to cause a corresponding character or function to be typed or executed by a typewriter or to be accepted as input by a computer.c. Music A button or lever that is depressed with the finger to produce or modulate the sound of an instrument, such as a clarinet or piano.6. Music a. A tonal system consisting of seven tones in fixed relationship to a tonic, having a characteristic key signature and being the structural foundation of the bulk of Western music; tonality.b. The principal tonality of a work: an etude in the key of E.7. The pitch of a voice or other sound.8. A characteristic tone or level of intensity, as of a speech or sales campaign. Often used in combination: high-key; low-key.9. Botany A samara.10. An outline of the distinguishing characteristics of a group of organisms, used as a guide in taxonomic identification.11. Basketball An area at each end of the court between the baseline and the foul line and including the jump-ball circle at the foul line: a jump shot from the top of the key.12. The act of replacing portions of a video or photograph containing a preselected color with material from a separate image, as by chroma key.adj. Of crucial importance; significant: key decisions; the key element of the thesis.v. keyed, key·ing, keys v.tr.1. To lock with a key.2. To be the determining or crucial factor in: a double that keyed a three-run rally in the fifth inning.3. Architecture To furnish (an arch) with a keystone.4. Music To regulate the pitch of.5. To bring into harmony; adjust or adapt: "achievement tests that are more clearly keyed to what students are held responsible for in high school" (New York Times).6. To cause to pay attention to: school officials who were keyed into the dietary needs of students.7. To supply with a key of correspondences or with corresponding references: keyed the pages in the edited book to illustrations in the manuscript.8. a. To operate (a device), as for typesetting, by means of a keyboard.b. To enter (data) into a computer by means of a keyboard.9. To identify (a biological specimen).10. To vandalize or mar by scratching with a key: Vandals keyed the cars left in the parking garage.11. To produce, replace, or include by chroma key.v.intr.1. To pay close attention; focus: improved service by keying on customer complaints; keyed into the main points of the lecture.2. Sports To watch or cover an opposing player closely in an effort to limit the player's effectiveness. Used with on: "[She] still carries the burden of scoring ... even though opponents key on her throughout every game" (Josh Barr).3. To replace portions of a video or photograph containing a preselected color with material from a separate image, as by chroma key.Phrasal Verb: key up To make intense, excited, or nervous: The actors were keyed up before the opening.Idioms: in key In consonance with other factors. out of key Not in consonance with other factors.

[Middle English kai, kei, from Old English cǣg.]

key²

C0177600 (kē)n. pl. keys A low offshore island or reef, especially in the Gulf of Mexico; a cay.

[Alteration (influenced by key, variant of quay) of Spanish cayo; see cay.]

key³

C0177600 (kē)n. pl. keys Slang A kilogram of marijuana, cocaine, or heroin.

[Shortening and alteration of kilogram.]

keys

(kiːz) interjdialect Scot a children's cry for truce or respite from the rules of a game[origin uncertain]

Translations

I left the keys in the car → 我把钥匙丢在车里了

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