keyword
or key word
[ kee-wurd ]
/ ˈkiˌwɜrd /
|
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.”
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for keywords
The government has banned has 138 keywords words from use on the Internet.
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
/ (ˈkiːˌwɜːd) /
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper