keynote

American  

[kee-noht] / ˈkiˌnoʊt /

noun

1. Music. the note or tone on which a key or system of tones is founded; the tonic.

2. the main idea or central principle of a speech, program, thought, action, etc.

3. the policy line to be followed, as by a party in a political campaign, that is set forth authoritatively in advance by an address or other formal announcement.

4. keynote address.

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verb (used with object)

keynoted, keynoting

1. to announce the policy of (a political party, campaign, assembly, etc.); deliver a keynote address at.

   The governor will keynote the convention.

2. to serve as the keynote for.

3. Music. to give the keynote of.

verb (used without object)

keynoted, keynoting

1. to provide a keynote, especially a keynote address.

   He refused an invitation to keynote.

keynote British  

/ ˈkiːˌnəʊt /

noun

1. 1. a central or determining principle in a speech, literary work, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a keynote speech

2. the note upon which a scale or key is based; tonic

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verb

1. to deliver a keynote address to (a political convention, etc)

2. to outline (political issues, policy, etc) in or as in a keynote address

Etymology

Origin of keynote

First recorded in 1755–65; key ¹ + note

Example Sentences

"We design the keynotes so that the big reveal of the product happens around 40 minutes into the presentation," Forstall said.

From Barron's

Something had shifted over those few days, a shift most eloquently expressed in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s keynote address.

From Salon

Nvidia’s stock closed Monday with a 1.6% gain, about a percentage point below where it was trading at the beginning of the keynote.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The inference inflection has arrived,” Huang said in his keynote speech.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Alliance Party said his keynote speech would include "his views on challenging the rise of populism in the modern world".

From BBC