keynote

American  

[kee-noht] / ˈkiˌnoʊt /

noun

• keynotes
  plural

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• keynotes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of keynote

First recorded in 1755–65; key ¹ + note

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Explanation

A keynote is "the leading note in a musical key," and that meaning has spread to include the leading theme or idea in almost anything. For example, a keynote speaker at a conference includes this central subject in her speech. You're most likely to find the word keynote followed by "speech," "address," or "speaker." The central keynote theme is often presented right at the beginning of a conference or seminar. Another meaning of keynote is "the leading note in a musical key." When you play a scale on the piano, the first, lowest, note is the keynote. This musical meaning dates from the mid-1700s, and the phrase "keynote address" was first used in 1905.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

keynote keynotes keynoted keynoting

Swinney will bring the SNP's three-day conference to a close with a keynote speech to delegates on Saturday.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Zuckerberg spoke alongside Wang at the same keynote address, wearing his new Hillsong pastor drip, the T-shirt this time emblazoned with the slogan “Building is my love language.”

From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026

“This is the real-deal version of AI that we’ve always imagined for ourselves,” Altman said during his keynote at OpenAI’s annual conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

At Meta’s campus, crowds lined up outside for the keynote speech as people snapped photos with a furry mascot called Jolly for the company’s AI agent Muse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

All this, too, was before John Kerry invited him to give the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention being held in Boston.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The festival features independent debate within the television industry, with more than 60 keynotes, debates, and masterclasses.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026

He plays a key role in the creation of company keynotes, which used to be live, but since the pandemic have been taped.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025

The adjacent Content Summit takes a diverse approach to the current state of the industry with workshops, keynotes, and networking events.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

From campus visits to conference keynotes, I was getting invitations from all across the United States.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Earlier this month, Zhora keynoted the Cyberwarcon cybersecurity conference outside Washington.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2023

Booker’s two-day swing – where he keynoted a state Democratic Party 2018 midterm election victory celebration and headlined three jam-packed house parties – appeared to be a tune-up for things to come.

From Fox News ● Dec. 28, 2018

He has keynoted more than a dozen of its events this year, traveling under its banner to states including Iowa and New Hampshire.

From New York Times ● May 14, 2018

A little bit later, at a luncheon keynoted by Gov.

From Slate ● Dec. 8, 2011

The organization decided to launch partnerships with groups like the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; Kopp keynoted the council's 2010 conference.

From Time ● Jun. 1, 2010

Biden also spent the 1970s and 1980s traveling the country and keynoting Democratic functions.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 19, 2022

Senator Kamala Harris of California is in Ohio this weekend, where she is keynoting the Ohio Democratic Party’s state dinner.

From New York Times ● Oct. 7, 2018

And on a rainy Monday morning, a crowd gathered outside the Westin Hotel where Republican Congressman Dave Reichert was keynoting the Washington Council on International Trade’s annual conference.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 14, 2017

Fittingly, Trump seems to have developed his fixation on ratings while working on The Apprentice, a connection he acknowledged while keynoting a 2014 National Press Club luncheon.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2016

In the last 18 months alone, the elder Cruz has spoken at more than 60 pastors’ conferences, not including keynoting dozens of local Republican chapter dinners, home-school events and official campaign stops.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 27, 2015

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