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Synonyms

keys

British  
/ kiːz /

interjection

  1. dialect a children's cry for truce or respite from the rules of a game

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of keys

origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One of the most promising approaches is quantum cryptography, which uses individual photons to generate encryption keys.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

The Travelodge hotel chain says it has made changes to its door key policy to ensure additional or replacement keys were only issued with permission from the person staying in the room.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

“One of the keys to investing success, certainly, is getting started early,” Jonathan Craig, head of retail investing at Charles Schwab, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

A viewer will be wondering why she doesn’t just grab the car keys and go.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

They trusted my father with the keys to their homes, and he took care of everything during winter months when the homes were uninhabited.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.