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

Dr Liz O'Riordan, who has had breast cancer three times, was a keynote speaker at the Let's Talk Women Health event held at The Hold in Ipswich on Saturday.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

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

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

“Every company in the world today needs to have an OpenClaw strategy,” Huang said in his keynote at Nvidia’s annual GTC conference.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

Nvidia GTC 2026, the global artificial-intelligence conference, kicks off with a keynote address from CEO Jensen Huang.

From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026

He started his campaign auspiciously enough with an overture to James Conant, who visited Berkeley in May to deliver the keynote address at Charter Day, the university’s annual founding celebration.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik