Clues for the word "KEY"
We've had 353 crossword clues used for this word, and seen it 803 times in crosswords. It was last seen in New York Times crossword on March 10, 2026.
Definition of key
- n. - An instrument by means of which the bolt of a lock is shot or drawn; usually, a removable metal instrument fitted to the mechanism of a particular lock and operated by turning in its place.
- n. - An instrument which is turned like a key in fastening or adjusting any mechanism; as, a watch key; a bed key, etc.
- n. - That part of an instrument or machine which serves as the means of operating it; as, a telegraph key; the keys of a pianoforte, or of a typewriter.
- n. - A position or condition which affords entrance, control, pr possession, etc.; as, the key of a line of defense; the key of a country; the key of a political situation. Hence, that which serves to unlock, open, discover, or solve something unknown or difficult; as, the key to a riddle; the key to a problem.
- n. - That part of a mechanism which serves to lock up, make fast, or adjust to position.
- n. - A piece of wood used as a wedge.
- n. - The last board of a floor when laid down.
- n. - A keystone.
- n. - That part of the plastering which is forced through between the laths and holds the rest in place.
- n. - A wedge to unite two or more pieces, or adjust their relative position; a cotter; a forelock.
- n. - A bar, pin or wedge, to secure a crank, pulley, coupling, etc., upon a shaft, and prevent relative turning; sometimes holding by friction alone, but more frequently by its resistance to shearing, being usually embedded partly in the shaft and partly in the crank, pulley, etc.
- n. - An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a wing, as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara; -- called also key fruit.
- n. - A family of tones whose regular members are called diatonic tones, and named key tone (or tonic) or one (or eight), mediant or three, dominant or five, subdominant or four, submediant or six, supertonic or two, and subtonic or seven. Chromatic tones are temporary members of a key, under such names as " sharp four," "flat seven," etc. Scales and tunes of every variety are made from the tones of a key.
- n. - The fundamental tone of a movement to which its modulations are referred, and with which it generally begins and ends; keynote.
- n. - Fig: The general pitch or tone of a sentence or utterance.
- v. t. - To fasten or secure firmly; to fasten or tighten with keys or wedges.
Referring Clues
- Crucial
- Lock opener
- Essential
- Codebreaker's discovery
- E or G, e.g.
- Code breaker
- Significant
- Bit of Florida
- Critical
- Chief
- F or G, but not H
- A major, maybe
- Important
- One of 88 on an eighty-eight
- Shift, tab or caps lock
- A or E, but not I
- Cryptographer's need
- Hotelier's handout
- Opener
- Pivotal
- Cryptographer's aid
- Vital
- Answer sheet
- C minor, for one
- G, e.g., but not H
- Church ___
- Door opener
- Critically important
- Florida island
- List of test answers
- Safe box opener
- Thing on a ring
- Ignition starter
- Item with a magnetic strip, nowadays
- Word before stone or stroke
- Anthem author
- "The Star-Spangled Banner" lyricist
- ALT or ESC
- ___ West
- Janitor's jangler
- Shift, tab or enter
- Piano piece?
- Locked door opener
- Ignition activator
- Computer feature that ends each of the five longest across answers
- Swipe card alternative
- Author of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
- Shift, for one
- With 26-Down, popular vacation area
- Piano part
- A major, e.g.
- Enter, e.g.
- Indispensable
- It'll get you in
- Answer book
- Tab, for one
- C major or D minor
- One of a Florida island group
- Primary
- Very important
- ___ Largo, FL
- A or B, e.g.
- Caps Lock, for one
- Hotel issuance
- Enter or Caps Lock
- Battle of Baltimore witness
- Anthem composer
- Paramount
- A minor, e.g.
- A flat, e.g.
- F major or E minor
- Teacher's answer sheet
- Chain item
- Lock partner
- "The Defense of Fort McHenry" author
- Low island
- Sardine can attachment
- What a typist taps
- Choirmaster's announcement
- U.S. anthem lyricist
- It may tinkle if you apply pressure
- Entry enabler
- Most important
- "Defense of Fort M'Henry" author
- Ring dangler
- Skeleton, for one
- Decoder's tool
- One of 88
- Common item in a purse
- Organ piece
- Speck in the ocean
- Lock fitter
- Ignition insert
- Sardine-can opener, sometimes
- Cryptogram cracker
- Integral
- Principal tonality, as of a concerto
- Something to play in
- Sheet music designation
- With 34-Down, kind of pie
- Clue
- ___ Largo
- All-important
- "The Defense of Fort McHenry" author
- Decoder's manual
- Shift, e.g.
- Board member?
- ___ Largo, FL
- Islet
- Coral reef
- Board leader?
- Enter, for one
- One of five in this puzzle
- Historic kite attachment
- Map feature
- Skeleton ___
- "Defence of Fort McHenry" poet
- Shift or tab
- Professor's answer sheet
- 1812 versifier
- Piano piece
- Jailer's implement
- Type (in)
- Lock go-with
- With 103-Down, 1948 Bogart-Bacall film
- Map legend
- Vitally important
- Fundamental
- Phi Beta Kappa symbol
- Opener on a ring
- Cipher code
- Centrally important
- Code base
- Set of answers
- Each answer to a starred clue ends in one
- CTRL, e.g.
- One of 88 on a piano
- Map reader's aid
- Teacher's answer book
- Solution to a code
- What good singers sing in
- Decoding need
- Lock's partner?
- *Basketball area
- "The Star-Spangled Banner" author
- Latch follower
- A-flat, e.g.
- Dangler from a ring
- G, e.g.
- Instrumental
- Lock unlocker
- A cipher needs one
- Under lock and ___
- Of prime importance
- Lower island
- Franklin experiment piece
- See 38-Down
- ___ to the city
- It has all the answers
- Linchpin
- Good thing to sing in
- Door opener?
- He wrote "Defence of Fort M'Henry"
- E or G, in music
- ___ lime pie
- "___ West"
- Item often kept on a chain
- F minor, e.g.
- B-flat or C-sharp
- Major
- B-flat, for one
- Item on a custodian's ring
- See 58-Down
- West in Florida?
- Cipher creator's need
- "The Star-Spangled Banner" writer
- C minor, for Beethoven's Fifth
- "The Star-Spangled Banner" composer
- West or Largo
- Bolt turner
- Lock insert
- Esc, e.g.
- See 65-Down
- Exam marking aid
- Gift in a relationship that's getting serious, maybe
- Manitoba, AKA______stone Province
- B, E or G, e.g.
- Car opener
- It can get you past a deadbolt
- Lock necessity
- Item that might be fervently wanted by a prisoner
- Poet inspired by the Battle of Baltimore
- One of many on a custodian's ring
- Manual opener
- Caps Lock, e.g.
- B minor, e.g.
- One in, or on, a chain
- Fundamental, and a word that can follow the first parts of 20-, 31-, 41- and 52-Across
- Hotel desk handout
- Answer
- Anthem writer Francis Scott ___
- Message-encrypting instructions
- Pitch
- Reef
- A musical major
- Lock need
- Cay
- Door unlocker
- Car starter
- "The Star-Spangled Banner" author, Francis Scott ___
- It opens doors
- Writer of "The Star Spangled Banner"
- Chain dangler
- Good thing to have if a door is locked
- Opening piece?
- It may be copied for family members
- C major, e.g.
- Stevie's "Songs in the ___ of Life"
- Song's harmonic tonic
- What Allentown, Pa. gave Billy Joel
- Minor, e.g.
- Song's harmonic center
- An opener can be such a man
- West of Florida, perhaps, you'll find the solution
- Using its tail, a monkey could open a door!
- An opener is such a man
- A minor, for instance
- Clef
- An opener of note
- A donkey has one just like a turkey, note
- The opening note?
- Don's left the ass a note!
- One of the bunch?
- A minor, perhaps
- One taking a turn as opener, partnering "20 Down"
- If you lose "14 Across", here's a duplicate
- The answer to a bit of a black eye?
- Tab or shift
- Florida isle
- Enter or Delete, e.g.
- Combination alternative
- F. Scott Fitzgeralds second middle name
- Test-grading aid
- Important economist is half-cut
- Lock locker
- Computer input button
- C major, for one
- Item on a janitor's ring
- With 68 Across, a Bogart-Robinson film
- "Defence of Fort M'Henry" poet
- Anthem writer
- It's turned in a lock
- Low-___ (restrained)
- Musical score datum
- One of the bunch has a bit of a black eye!
- It's needed to open handcuffs
- Map guide
- Locker?
- A major or minor
- List of correct answers
- and = share one
- Longboat in Florida, e.g.
- Item on a ring
- Of great importance
- A piano piece?
- Has it a musical ring?
- Composer's choice
- Solution
- National anthem author
- Common opener
- Door-opening thing
- Insert or Delete
- Scroll Lock or Num Lock
- Item on a jailer's ring
- List of answers
- Magnetic card at a hotel
- What makes a tumbler spin
- A, B or C, e.g.
- ___ West, FL
- E or G, e.g., in music
- Legend
- Teacher’s test copy
- Of paramount importance
- Tonality suitable for a Largo
- Word after skeleton or answer
- Legend from space, perhaps
- Way in
- Door or lock opener
- The solution, note
- Crucial element
- Essential England cricketer?
- "Locke & ___"
- Sardine can opener
- *A child might spy through one
- Tab, say
- Dead-bolt insert
- Solution or explanation
- Aid for a decoder
- It can be skeletal, note
- That of 'Largo'?
- Caps Lock or Delete, e.g.
- Lock-picker's lack
- Major, often in a hole
- Not to be overlooked
- Chief of the bunch?
- "The Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott
- Such men may take turns as openers
- Map part
- Deadbolt unlocker
- Metal instrument
- Symbol of ownership
- *Pennsylvania state symbol
- See 7-Down
- Hotel front desk handout
- Largo, e.g.
- It might open a lock
- One of 60 on a harpsichord
- G major, e.g.
- Excellent thing to sing in
- Padlock partner
- "The Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott ___
- E minor, e.g.
- Francis Scott ___
- Shift or Enter
- Item that might be hidden under a front door mat
- Development in cryptography
- Super important
- It jingles on a janitor's ring
- Exciting escape room discovery
- The opening note?
- Anthem lyricist with a musical name
- ___ signature (C# major, e.g.)
- One taking turns as an opener?
- Delete, e.g.
- Tab or Esc
- One of the bunch?
- One taking a turn as opener?
- Middle C, e.g.
- It's got all the answers
- Decryption need
- Escape room find
- The answer to a bit of a black eye?
- Peele's partner
- What context is, in a saying
- Opener of a door or heart
- Unlocking tool
- Insert or Page Up
- A noted opener
- Map inset
- Mission-critical
- Lock's companion
- Most important part
- Word with shift or skeleton
Last Seen In
- New York Times - March 10, 2026
- New York Times - February 27, 2026
- Penny Dell Daily - February 20, 2026
- New Zealand Herald - February 02, 2026
- Your Life Choices - January 30, 2026
- Penny Dell Daily - January 01, 2026
- Mirror Daily - December 17, 2025
- Evening Standard Cryptic - December 03, 2025
- Mirror Mini - November 15, 2025
- Penny Dell Daily - October 19, 2025
- Evening Standard Cryptic - October 16, 2025
- Penny Dell Sunday - October 12, 2025
- Penny Dell Daily - September 18, 2025
- Evening Standard Quick - September 15, 2025
- Penny Dell Daily - September 11, 2025
- New Zealand Herald - September 03, 2025
- Penny Dell Daily - September 01, 2025
- Your Life Choices - August 25, 2025
- LA Times - August 16, 2025
- Evening Standard Easy - July 28, 2025
- Evening Standard Quick - July 15, 2025
- New York Times - July 08, 2025
- Evening Standard Quick - June 23, 2025
- Evening Standard Quick - June 04, 2025
- New Zealand Herald - June 02, 2025
- New York Times - May 17, 2025
- Evening Standard Cryptic - May 05, 2025
- King Syndicate - Eugene Sheffer - April 30, 2025
- King Syndicate - Eugene Sheffer - April 24, 2025
- LA Times - March 10, 2025
- And in 773 more crossword puzzles...