keyword

or key word

[kee-wurd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR keyword ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a word that serves as a key, as to the meaning of another word, a sentence, passage, or the like.

a word used to encipher or decipher a cryptogram, as a pattern for a transposition procedure or the basis for a complex substitution.

Also called catchword. Library Science. a significant or memorable word or term in the title, abstract, or text of a document or other item being indexed, used as the index entry.

Digital Technology. a word used to classify or organize digital content, or to facilitate an online search for information: Search the database for the keyword “Ireland.”

Nearby words

Origin of keyword

First recorded in 1855–60; key¹ + word

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for keyword

Angwin notes that keyword searches are increasingly tracked.
They Want to Know Everything About You|Jake Whitney|March 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When you send a tweet, Google a keyword, or stream a Netflix movie, you are harvesting what Shannon sowed.
Drowning in Beeps|Nicholas Carr|March 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Their version of journalism is to focus on things like “keyword density” and search-engine optimization.
AOL's Tricky HuffPo Marriage|Dan Lyons|February 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But, no, the keyword stands in sharpest contrast to these surroundings.
Quiet Talks on Prayer|S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon

It is not likely that the composer of such an ingenious cryptogram would leave the keyword to guesswork.
The Mystery of the Downs|John R. Watson
No one in the world without his square of letters and without the keyword can read this message.
Uncle Sam Detective|William Atherton Du Puy
What is a keyword for the opportunities of the Intermediate Age?
Training the Teacher|A. F. Schauffler
The word with which you parted so lightly is the keyword of all life.
The Blue Flower, and Others|Henry van Dyke

British Dictionary definitions for keyword

keyword

noun

a word used as a key to a code

any significant word or phrase, esp a word used to describe the contents of a document

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for keyword

keyword

also key-word, 1807, from key (n.1) + word (n.). Originally in reference to codes and ciphers.

keyword

or key word

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of keyword

Examples from the Web for keyword

keyword

noun

keyword