key
/ki/noun, adjective, verb
key is spelled K-E-Y: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 132 times per million words in written English, the 792nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “cay vs key” about 320 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, key means “An object designed to open and close a lock or to activate or deactivate something, especially a length of metal inserted into a narrow opening on…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of key is keys.
How many letters and syllables are in key?
| Letters | 3: K-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 132 times per million words; the 792nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is key?
Key appears 132 times per million words in written English, the 792nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce key?
- UK /kiː/
- US /ki/
Key has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-key.ogg, En-us-key.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with key
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: cay, ki, quay (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with key?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as key from its last stressed vowel (/i/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: kye.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of key
- keys plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- keyer comparative
- more key comparative
- keyest superlative
- most key superlative
- keying participle, present
- keyed participle, past
- cay
- ki
- keye
- kee
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does key mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An object designed to open and close a lock or to activate or deactivate something, especially a length of metal inserted into a narrow opening on the lock to which it is matched (keyed).
This key is to the backdoor.
- 2
A card or fob that electronically signals a lock to open.
My hotel room key is a card.
- 3
A piece of information (e.g., a password or passphrase) used to encode or decode a message or messages.
- 4
A password restricting access to an IRC channel.
- 5
slangA key bump (A portion of a recreational drug in powdered form that is snorted from a key or similar small object.)
I saw him snort a key at the party.
- 6
Any of various tools comparable to a wrench (spanner) or driver, which have a specialized end that matches a fixture, analogously to a lock's key.
The exterminator will bring a key thingy that can open the bait boxes.
- 7
A cotter pin.
- 8
A piece of wood used as a wedge.
- 9
One of a string of small islands.
the Florida Keys
- 10
slangA kilogram, especially of a recreational drug.
- 11
A key position player (a tall forward or defender).
- 12
Alternative form of quay.
adjective
- 1
Indispensable, supremely important.
He is the key player on his soccer team.
- 2
Important, salient.
She makes several key points.
verb
- 1
To fit (a lock) with a key.
- 2
To fit (pieces of a mechanical assembly) with a key to maintain the orientation between them.
- 3
To mark or indicate with a symbol indicating membership in a class.
- 4
To depress (a telegraph key).
- 5
To operate (the transmitter switch of a two-way radio).
- 6
(more usually to key in) To enter (information) by typing on a keyboard or keypad.
Our instructor told us to key in our user IDs.
- 7
colloquialTo vandalize (a car, etc.) by scratching with an implement such as a key.
He keyed the car that had taken his parking spot.
- 8
To link (as one might do with a key or legend).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Key in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | clé, clef , légende , touche , caye |
| German | Schlüssel , Zeichenerklärung, Legende , Taste |
| Portuguese | chave , legenda , tecla , clave , digitar, teclar |
| Spanish | llave, llavín , leyenda , teclear , cuña , clave |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does key come from?
From Middle English keye, kaye, keiȝe, from Old English cǣġ (“key, solution, experiment”) (whence also Scots key and kay (“key”)), from Anglo-Frisian Proto-West Germanic *kaiju, of uncertain origin. The only sure cognates are Saterland Frisian Koai (“key”), West Frisian kaai (“key”), and North Frisian kai, koie (“key”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).