keyword

or key word

[ kee-wurd ]

/ ˈkiˌwɜrd /

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See 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.”

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Origin of keyword

First recorded in 1855–60; key¹ + word

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use keyword in a sentence

Almost every episode of the recurring site feature “Strong Bad Emails” offered users clickable keywords that unlocked something.
Homestar Runner, Trogdor the Burninator, and the Birth of the Internet|Rich Goldstein|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For that matter, even if they also targeted liberal keywords, it would still be just as big a problem.
Why Did the IRS Target Conservative Groups?|Megan McArdle|May 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The government has banned has 138 keywords words from use on the Internet.
What Scares Turkey’s Women?|Margaret Spiegelman|March 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But no great storyteller has ever been someone who started out by thinking about traffic numbers and search engine keywords.
AOL's Tricky HuffPo Marriage|Dan Lyons|February 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Small reproductions of the charts, with a table of keywords: 30 copies for 1s.
The Sounds of Spoken English|Walter Rippmann
Certain keywords can be often be used to differentiate facts from opinions.
Sequential Problem Solving|Fredric Lozo

British Dictionary definitions for keyword

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

keyword

or key word

Origin of keyword

Words related to keyword

How to use keyword in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for keyword