keyword

or key word

[kee-wurd]

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.”

Origin of keyword

First recorded in 1855–60; key¹ + word

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for keywords

abracadabra, access, key, password, watchword, abraxas, keyword, opener, paternoster

Examples from the Web for keywords

Contemporary Examples of keywords

The government has banned has 138 keywords words from use on the Internet.
What Scares Turkey’s Women?
Margaret Spiegelman
March 21, 2012

Historical Examples of keywords

Small reproductions of the charts, with a table of keywords: 30 copies for 1s.
The Sounds of Spoken English
Walter Rippmann

British Dictionary definitions for keywords

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 keywords

keyword

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