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

Within the fair’s 200 buildings, they were dazzled by inventions including an enormous Corliss steam engine, the first typing machine featuring a qwerty keyboard and a working model of a steamship.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

I think that’s why so many “Stranger Things” actors have musical projects: You can’t film anything else but you can sit in your house with your keyboard.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

In the ’80s Palm Common Room, a vintage keyboard, a computer mouse and touch-tone phone hang on the walls.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

During her time on the ISS in 2019 to 2020, "she learned to play a song for her husband on the keyboard for their wedding anniversary".

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

It’s got a twenty-six-letter keyboard, but there’s no place for paper.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• console
• manual
• piano