latchkey

American  

[lach-kee] / ˈlætʃˌki /

noun

• latchkeys
  plural

1. a key for releasing a latch or springlock, especially on an outer door.

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latchkey British  

/ ˈlætʃˌkiː /

noun

1. a key for an outside door or gate, esp one that lifts a latch

2. 1. a supposed freedom from restrictions

   2. ( as modifier )

      a latchkey existence

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• latchkeys
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of latchkey

First recorded in 1815–25; latch + key ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

latchkey latchkeys

America had its latchkey generation and, along with that, a growing sense that the world is a dangerous place, especially its wilder parts.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

Since I was a latchkey kid, I needed to find something else to do after school.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

"Dinosaurs were more like latchkey kids," Holtz said.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026

His mother’s sister and brother-in-law helped care for them when they could, but he likened himself to a latchkey kid because of the amount of time he and his sister spent alone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2026

Just normal instructions for latchkey kids in Garden Heights.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

Buzzing around them are children who frolic unsupervised far into the night, wearing latchkeys on strings around their necks because there is nobody at home to care for them.

From Time Magazine Archive

There are two latchkeys, of which John used to keep one and I the other.

From The Vanishing Man by R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman

If the people inside the house will run the place as we want it run, they may stay inside and we will keep the latchkeys in our pockets.

From The New Freedom A Call For the Emancipation of the Generous Energies of a People by Woodrow Wilson

Even young female wraiths, demanding latchkeys, refuse to obey the frowning face of the clock, and engage in light-hearted ebullience to make the ghost of Mrs. Grundy turn a shade paler in horror.

From Humorous Ghost Stories by Dorothy Scarborough

But young women and latchkeys are common in London, as common as--as dirt.

From Laid up in Lavender by Stanley J. Weyman

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