- key
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 for a doorADJECTIVE▪ master, skeleton▪ duplicate, spare▪ apartment (esp. AmE), car, door, house, ignition, room, etc.▪
She hides a front door key in a flowerpot.
… OF KEYS▪ bunch, ring (esp. AmE), set▪a large bunch of keys
▪He fished a ring of keys out of his pocket.
▪a set of car keys
VERB + KEY▪ turn▪She turned the key in the lock.
▪ insert, put in, slide in▪I slid the key into the lock and went in.
▪ remove, take out▪ use▪She must have used a key to get in.
▪ leave▪She left a key with the neighbours/neighbors.
▪ lock in▪I'd accidentally locked the keys in my car.
KEY + VERB▪ open, unlock▪You need a key to open the garage.
▪ lock▪ turn▪They heard a key turn in the lock.
▪ jangle, jingle▪The sound of keys jangling caught her attention.
PREPOSITION▪ with a/the key▪You have to close it with the key.
▪ key for▪Robbie didn't have a key for these doors.
▪ key to▪the key to the front door
PHRASES▪ get a key cut (BrE)▪I'll get another key cut so that you can have one.
2 on a computerADJECTIVE▪ Alt, arrow, backspace, control, delete, enter, escape, function, return, shift, etc.▪ hot (= a key that you can press to perform a set of operations quickly), short-cut▪F1 is the short-cut key for calling up help.
… OF KEYS▪ row▪the top row of keys
VERB + KEY▪ hit, hold down, press, punch, tap▪Hold down the Alt key while pressing the arrow keys.
▪ release3 decisive factorVERB + KEY▪ have, hold▪First-time voters could hold the key to the election result.
PREPOSITION▪ key to▪Language is the key to understanding those around you.
4 in musicADJECTIVE▪ major, minor▪ high, lowVERB + KEY▪ change▪The piece changes key in the middle.
KEY + VERB▪ change▪The key changes from C major to A minor.
KEY + NOUN▪ change▪ signaturePREPOSITION▪ in a/the key▪What key is it in?
▪Can we try it in a lower key?
▪ key of▪the key of G major
PHRASES▪ a change of key5 on a musical instrumentADJECTIVE▪ organ, piano, etc.▪ black, whiteVERB + KEY▪ caress, stroke, touch▪ depress{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}adj.Key is used with these nouns: ↑advantage, ↑aim, ↑ally, ↑appointment, ↑area, ↑article, ↑aspect, ↑assumption, ↑attribute, ↑challenge, ↑characteristic, ↑component, ↑concept, ↑concession, ↑consideration, ↑constituency, ↑contributor, ↑customer, ↑decision, ↑demand, ↑difference, ↑dimension, ↑distinction, ↑document, ↑element, ↑employee, ↑event, ↑executive, ↑factor, ↑feature, ↑figure, ↑finding, ↑function, ↑idea, ↑importance, ↑indicator, ↑individual, ↑industry, ↑ingredient, ↑instrument, ↑issue, ↑leader, ↑link, ↑measure, ↑meeting, ↑member, ↑message, ↑milestone, ↑ministry, ↑moment, ↑objective, ↑paragraph, ↑part, ↑participant, ↑passage, ↑performer, ↑personnel, ↑phrase, ↑plank, ↑player, ↑point, ↑position, ↑precinct, ↑principle, ↑problem, ↑provision, ↑question, ↑reason, ↑recommendation, ↑requirement, ↑respect, ↑role, ↑sector, ↑senator, ↑stage, ↑step, ↑strategy, ↑strength, ↑stumbling block, ↑supplier, ↑suspect, ↑target, ↑task, ↑term, ↑test, ↑text, ↑theme, ↑thing, ↑tool, ↑topic, ↑turning point, ↑vocabulary, ↑vote, ↑witness, ↑word, ↑worker
Collocations dictionary. 2013.