| 单词 | key |
| 释义 | key key1 /kee/, n. , pl. keys, adj., v., keyed, keying. n. 1. a small metal instrument specially cut to fit into a lock and move its bolt. 2. any of various devices resembling or functioning as a key: the key of a clock. 3. See key card. 4. something that affords a means of access: the key to happiness. 5. something that secures or controls entrance to a place: Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean. 6. something that affords a means of clarifying a problem. 7. a book, pamphlet, or other text containing the solutions or translations of material given elsewhere, as testing exercises. 8. a systematic explanation of abbreviations, symbols, etc., used in a dictionary, map, etc.: pronunciation key. Cf. legend (def. 4). 9. the system, method, pattern, etc., used to decode or decipher a cryptogram, as a code book, machine setting, or key word. 10. one of a set of marked parts, designated areas, or levers pressed in operating a typewriter, computer terminal, calculator, etc. 11. a manually operated lever for opening and closing an electric circuit, used to produce signals in telegraphy. 12. Music. a. (in a keyboard instrument) one of the levers that when depressed by the performer sets in motion the playing mechanism. b. (on a woodwind instrument) a metal lever that opens and closes a vent. c. the relationship perceived between all tones in a given unit of music and a single tone or a keynote; tonality. d. the principal tonality of a composition: a symphony in the key of C minor. e. the keynote or tonic of a scale. 13. tone or pitch, as of voice: to speak in a high key. 14. mood or characteristic style, as of expression or thought: He writes in a melancholy key. 15. degree of intensity, as of feeling or action. 16. a pin, bolt, wedge, or other piece inserted in a hole or space to lock or hold parts of a mechanism or structure together; a cotter. 17. a small piece of steel fitting into matching slots of a hub of a wheel or the like and the shaft on which the wheel is mounted so that torque is transmitted from one to the other. 18. a contrivance for grasping and turning a bolt, nut, etc. 19. Computers. a field or group of characters within a record that identifies the record, establishing its position among sorted records, and/or provides information about its contents. 20. (in a series of advertisements or announcements soliciting replies) a unique code inserted for each medium used, to determine the relative effectiveness of the media. 21. Elect. a. a device for opening and closing electrical contacts. b. a hand-operated switching device ordinarily formed of concealed spring contacts with an exposed handle or push button, capable of switching one or more parts of a circuit. 22. Biol. a systematic tabular classification of the significant characteristics of the members of a group of organisms to facilitate identification and comparison. 23. Masonry. a keystone. 24. Archit. (in a ribbed vault) a stone, as a boss, at the intersection of two or more ribs. 25. Masonry , Carpentry. a wedge, as for tightening a joint or splitting a stone or timber. 26. Carpentry. a small piece of wood set into a timber across the grain to prevent warping. 27. Building Trades. any grooving or roughness applied to a surface to improve its bond with another surface. 28. Basketball. keyhole (def. 2). 29. Photog. the dominant tonal value of a picture, a high-key picture having light tonal values and minimal contrast and a low-key picture being generally dark with minimal contrast. 30. Painting. the tonal value and intensity of a color or range of colors: Rembrandt's colors are characterized by their low key. 31. Bot. a samara. 32. (cap.) a member of the House of Keys. 33. keys, spiritual authority. 34. power of the keys, the authority of a pope in ecclesiastical matters, vested in him as successor of St. Peter. adj. 35. chief; major; important; essential; fundamental; pivotal: a key person in the company; key industries. v.t. 36. to regulate or adjust (actions, thoughts, speech, etc.) to a particular state or activity; bring into conformity: to key one's speech to the intellectual level of the audience. 37. Music. to regulate the key or pitch of. 38. Painting. a. to paint (a picture) in a given key. b. to adjust the colors in (a painting) to a particular hue: He keyed the painting to brown. 39. to fasten, secure, or adjust with a key, wedge, or the like, as parts of a mechanism. 40. to provide with a key. 41. (in the layout of newspapers, magazines, etc.) to identify, through signs or symbols, the positions of illustrations or pieces of copy in a dummy. 42. to lock with or as if with a key. 43. Masonry. to provide (an arch or vault) with a keystone. 44. Computers. keyboard (def. 4). v.i. 45. to use a key. 46. Computers. keyboard (def. 4). 47. key in, Computers. keyboard (def. 4). 48. key on, a. Football. to watch the position and movements of an opponent in order to anticipate a play: The defensive backs keyed on the star receiver. b. Also, key in on. to single out as of prime importance or interest; be intent on or obsessed with: a company that is keyed in on growth. 49. key up, a. to bring to a particular degree of intensity of feeling, excitement, energy, nervousness, agitation, etc.: keyed up over the impending test. b. to raise (a piece of masonry) by the insertion of a wedge or wedges. c. to raise (the haunches of an arch) by the insertion of a voussoir. [bef. 900; ME key(e), kay(e), OE caeg, caege; c. OFris kei, kai] Syn. 6. answer, explanation, resolution, clue. key2 /kee/, n. , pl. keys. a reef or low island; cay. [1690-1700; < Sp cayo, prob. < Arawak] key3 /kee/, n. , pl. keys. Slang. a kilogram of marijuana or a narcotic drug. [1965-70, Amer.; shortening and resp. of KILOGRAM] |
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