キー - フリー辞書による定義

Key - definition of key by The Free Dictionary Key - definition of key by The Free Dictionary https://www.thefreedictionary.com/key Printer Friendly key Also found in: Thesaurus , Medical , Legal , Financial , Acronyms , Idioms , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . key 1 (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 .] key 2 (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 .] key 3 (kē) n. pl. keys Slang A kilogram of marijuana, cocaine, or heroin. [Shortening and alteration of kilogram .] American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. key ( kiː ) n 1. (Mechanical Engineering) a metal instrument, usually of a specifically contoured shape, that is made to fit a lock and, when rotated, operates the lock's mechanism 2. (Mechanical Engineering) any instrument that is rotated to operate a valve, clock winding mechanism, etc 3. (Mechanical Engineering) a small metal peg or wedge inserted into keyways 4. (Mechanical Engineering) any of a set of levers operating a typewriter, computer, etc 5. (Instruments) any of the visible parts of the lever mechanism of a musical keyboard instrument that when depressed set in motion the action that causes the instrument to sound 6. (Classical Music) a. Also called: tonality any of the 24 major and minor diatonic scales considered as a corpus of notes upon which a piece of music draws for its tonal framework b. the main tonal centre in an extended composition: a symphony in the key of F major . c. the tonic of a major or minor scale d. See tuning key 7. something that is crucial in providing an explanation or interpretation: the key to adult behaviour lies in childhood . 8. a means of achieving a desired end: the key to happiness . 9. a means of access or control: Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean . 10. a list of explanations of symbols, codes, etc 11. a text that explains or gives information about a work of literature, art, or music 12. Also called: key move the correct initial move in the solution of a set problem 13. (Biology) biology a systematic list of taxonomic characteristics, used to identify animals or plants 14. (Photography) photog painting the dominant tonal value and colour intensity of a picture. See also low-key 3 , high-key 15. (Electrical Engineering) electrical engineering a. a hand-operated device for opening or closing a circuit or for switching circuits b. a hand-operated switch that is pressed to transmit coded signals, esp Morse code 16. (Building) the grooving or scratching of a surface or the application of a rough coat of plaster, etc, to provide a bond for a subsequent finish 17. pitch: he spoke in a low key . 18. a characteristic mood or style: a poem in a melancholic key . 19. level of intensity: she worked herself up to a high key . 20. (Railways) railways a wooden wedge placed between a rail and a chair to keep the rail firmly in place 21. (Building) a wedge for tightening a joint or for splitting stone or timber 22. (Building) short for keystone 1 23. (Botany) botany any dry winged fruit, esp that of the ash 24. (Photography) ( modifier ) photog determining the tonal value of a photograph: flesh colour is an important key tone . adj of great importance; crucial: a key issue . vb ( mainly tr ) 25. ( foll by to ) to harmonize (with): to key one's actions to the prevailing mood . 26. to adjust or fasten with a key or some similar device 27. to provide with a key or keys 28. (Law) to scratch the paintwork of (a car) with a key 29. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) ( often foll by up ) to locate the position of (a piece of copy, artwork, etc) on a layout by the use of symbols 30. (Computer Science) ( also intr ) another word for keyboard 3 31. to include a distinguishing device in (an advertisement, etc), so that responses to it can be identified 32. (Building) to provide a keystone for (an arch) [Old English cǣg; related to Old Frisian kēi, Middle Low German keie spear] ˈkeyless adj key ( kiː ) n (Physical Geography) a variant spelling of cay Key ( kiː ) n (Biography) John ( Phillip ). born 1961, New Zealand politician; prime minister from 2008 Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014 key 1 (ki) n., pl. keys, adj., v. n. 1. a small metal instrument specially cut to fit into a lock and move its bolt. 2. any of various devices functioning as a key: the key of a clock. 3. something that affords a means to achive, master, or understand something else: the key to happiness; the key to training a dog. 4. something that controls entrance to a place: Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean. 5. a book or other text containing the solutions or translations of material given elsewhere, as testing exercises. 6. a systematic explanation of abbreviations, symbols, and the like used in a dictionary, map, etc.: pronunciation key. Compare legend (def. 4). 7. the system, method, pattern, etc., used to decode or decipher a cryptogram. 8. one of the buttons on the keyboard of a typewriter, computer, or the like that are pressed to operate the device. 9. 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. 10. tone or pitch, as of voice: to speak in a high key. 11. mood or characteristic style. 12. degree of intensity, as of feeling or action. 13. a pin, bolt, wedge, or other piece inserted in a space to lock or hold parts of a mechanism or structure together. 14. a contrivance for grasping and t