keyboard

American  

[kee-bawrd] / ˈkiˌbɔrd /

noun

1. the row or set of keys on a piano, organ, or the like.

   I was playing piano before my feet could reach the pedals or my fingers could cover a chord on the keyboard.

2. a set of keys, usually arranged in tiers, for operating a typewriter, computer, cash register, or the like, or a digital representation of the same on a touchscreen used to type on a device such as a smartphone or tablet.

   I spilled coffee on my keyboard, and now the return key sticks so my documents are full of extra line breaks.

3. any of various musical instruments played by means of a pianolike keyboard, as a piano, electric piano, or organ.

   You basically need four people to start a rock band—someone on lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and keyboard.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. Also key in to enter (data) into a computer by means of a keyboard.

   If you can get changes keyboarded by Monday, we should still be able to make the project deadline.

2. to set (text) in type, using a machine that is operated by a keyboard.

keyboard British  

/ ˈkiːˌbɔːd /

noun

1. 1. a complete set of keys, usually hand-operated, as on a piano, organ, typewriter, or typesetting machine

   2. ( as modifier )

      a keyboard instrument

2. (often plural) a musical instrument, esp an electronic one, played by means of a keyboard

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verb

1. to set (a text, etc) in type, onto magnetic tape, or into some other medium, by using a keyboard machine

Other Word Forms

• keyboarder
  noun
• keyboardist
  noun
• rekeyboard
  verb

Etymology

Origin of keyboard

First recorded in 1810–20; key ¹ + board

Explanation

What do pianos and computers have in common? They both have keyboards! A computer keyboard has numbers and letters, but a piano keyboard has musical notes. The keyboard is the part that you press with your fingers. Besides the rockin’ keyboard of a synthesizer, piano, or organ, there is also the computer keyboard. This keyboard is used for typing, with the earliest examples being the keyboards on typewriters. Occasionally, the word keyboard is used as a verb, meaning "to type on keyboard." It’s also, literally, a board with little hooks to hang the other kind of keys on. The musical instrument meaning came first, around 1819.

Example Sentences

When she comes on to play, toting her digital keyboard, it’s always as herself, or mostly herself, with her name spelled out across the screen: Jane Wickline.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

Along with her demonstrated keyboard skills, she plays solid jazz trumpet.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

The shift toward the personal began with the Altair 8800, a mail-order kit that lacked a screen or keyboard but proved a market existed for home hobbyists.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

It was only natural to wonder what Apple would do without Jobs and whether it could survive, which now sounds as quaint as dismissing the iPhone because it didn’t have a physical keyboard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

I nod again, watching Este’s fingers fly across the keyboard.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Related Words

• console
• manual
• piano