Standard Lemma guide

keyword

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australian, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkiː.wɜːd/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Queensland Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈki.wɝd/
  • rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)d
  • CMU ARPABET: K IY1 W ER2 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any word used as the key to a code.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, cryptography, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: password, passcode

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, human-sciences, information-science, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Any important word in a text or document, which may be linked to other words or other information, or listed in the metadata for searches to find.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, human-sciences, information-science, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: operative word, workword

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: keystring

4

noun

Meaning 4

A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, programming, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Any word that occurs in a text more often than normal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To tag with keywords, as for example to facilitate searching.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From key + word.

Across languages

Translations

86 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: açar söz — word used as a key to a code
  • Belarusian: ключаво́е сло́ва (ključavóje slóva) — word used as a key to a code
  • Bulgarian: ключ (ključ) — word used as a key to a code
  • Bulgarian: клю́чова ду́ма (kljúčova dúma) — word used as a key to a code
  • Chinese Mandarin: 關鍵詞 /关键词 (guānjiàncí) — word used as a key to a code
  • Chinese Mandarin: 關鍵字 /关键字 (guānjiànzì) — word used as a key to a code
  • Czech: klíčové slovo — word used as a key to a code
  • Danish: nøgleord — word used as a key to a code
  • Dutch: sleutelwoord — word used as a key to a code
  • Finnish: avainsana — word used as a key to a code
  • French: mot-clé — word used as a key to a code
  • German: Schlüsselwort — word used as a key to a code
  • German: Passwort — word used as a key to a code
  • German: Stichwort — word used as a key to a code
  • Greek: κλειδολέξη (kleidoléxi) — word used as a key to a code
  • Greek: λέξη κλειδί (léxi kleidí) — word used as a key to a code
  • Hebrew: מִלַּת מַפְתֵּחַ (milát maftéakh) — word used as a key to a code
  • Hungarian: kulcsszó — word used as a key to a code
  • Icelandic: markorð — word used as a key to a code
  • Icelandic: stikkorð — word used as a key to a code
  • Ido: klefovorto — word used as a key to a code
  • Indonesian: kata sandi — word used as a key to a code
  • Italian: parola chiave — word used as a key to a code
  • Japanese: キーワード (kīwādo) — word used as a key to a code
  • Korean: 키워드 (kiwodeu) — word used as a key to a code
  • Korean: 핵심어 (haeksimeo) — word used as a key to a code
  • Macedonian: клу́чен збор (klúčen zbor) — word used as a key to a code
  • Malay: kata kunci — word used as a key to a code
  • Māori: kupu matua — word used as a key to a code
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nøkkelord — word used as a key to a code
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nykelord — word used as a key to a code
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nøkkelord — word used as a key to a code
  • Persian: کلیدواژه (kelidvâže) — word used as a key to a code
  • Persian: واژۀ کلیدی (vâže-ye kelidi) — word used as a key to a code
  • Polish: słowo klucz — word used as a key to a code
  • Polish: słowo kluczowe — word used as a key to a code
  • Portuguese: palavra-chave — word used as a key to a code
  • Romanian: cuvânt-cheie — word used as a key to a code
  • Russian: ключево́е сло́во (ključevóje slóvo) — word used as a key to a code
  • Serbo-Croatian: кључна реч — word used as a key to a code
  • Serbo-Croatian: кључна ријеч — word used as a key to a code
  • Serbo-Croatian: ključna reč — word used as a key to a code
  • Serbo-Croatian: ključna riječ — word used as a key to a code
  • Slovak: kľúčové slovo — word used as a key to a code
  • Slovene: ključna beseda — word used as a key to a code
  • Spanish: palabra clave — word used as a key to a code
  • Spanish: clave — word used as a key to a code
  • Swedish: nyckelord — word used as a key to a code
  • Tagalog: susing-salita — word used as a key to a code
  • Turkish: anahtar kelime — word used as a key to a code
  • Turkish: anahtar sözcük — word used as a key to a code
  • Ukrainian: ключове́ сло́во (ključové slóvo) — word used as a key to a code
  • Bulgarian: ключова дума (ključova duma) — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Chinese Mandarin: 關鍵詞 /关键词 (guānjiàncí) — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Danish: opslagsord — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Danish: stikord — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Finnish: hakusana — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • German: Stichwort — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • German: Schlagwort — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Hebrew: מִלַּת מַפְתֵּחַ — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Indonesian: kata kunci — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Māori: kupu matua — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nøkkelord — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nykelord — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nøkkelord — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Polish: słowo klucz — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Polish: słowo kluczowe — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Romanian: cuvânt-cheie — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Russian: ключево́е сло́во (ključevóje slóvo) — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Swahili: neno la msingi — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Swedish: nyckelord — word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information
  • Azerbaijani: açar söz — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Dutch: sleutelwoord — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • German: Schlüsselwort — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Greek: λέξη κλειδί (léxi kleidí) — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Greek: λέξη-κλειδί (léxi-kleidí) — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Indonesian: kata kunci — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Māori: kupumatua — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Polish: słowo klucz — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Polish: słowo kluczowe — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Romanian: cuvânt-cheie — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Turkish: anahtar söz — programming: A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • Indonesian: kata kunci — (linguistics) Any word that occurs in a text more often than normal.
  • Māori: tino kupu — (linguistics) Any word that occurs in a text more often than normal.
  • Polish: słowo klucz — (linguistics) Any word that occurs in a text more often than normal.
  • Polish: słowo kluczowe — (linguistics) Any word that occurs in a text more often than normal.