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

Having retired from football in 2024, Murray is now an award-winning keynote speaker.

From BBC

The actor decried the lack of stories by and for women in Hollywood during her keynote speech at the annual Academy Women’s Luncheon in November.

From Los Angeles Times

They attend keynotes and panels, cocktail parties and receptions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Huang spent a large part of his keynote focused on the company’s efforts in physical AI and also announced the company’s open-source Alpamayo reasoning models for autonomous driving.

From MarketWatch

Su’s keynote sought to establish AMD as both a partner of choice for key AI players and a necessary player in a world where demand for AI hardware still outstrips supply.

From MarketWatch