keychain
Americannoun
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a key ring with an attached ornament or other object, a short chain, or a leather or plastic loop, etc..
This great little light fits on my keychain and runs 150 hours on an ordinary watch battery.
-
a chain for carrying keys, often worn hanging from a belt.
We always knew when the school janitor was near, because he carried this massive keychain on his belt that jangled with every step.
Etymology
Origin of keychain
First recorded in 1650–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With high-tech metal verification devices back-ordered online, Moorer relies on coin shops equipped with testing tools and carries a small magnet on his keychain to perform basic authenticity checks himself.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
And I couldn’t resist buying a KPop Demon Hunters keychain for a friend’s daughter.
From Barron's • Dec. 20, 2025
My stomach still drops when “home” pops up on the car navigation system set to an address that no longer exists for us, and yet our old house key dangles steadfastly from my keychain.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2025
The tool is independent of the protections for blue messages sent with iMessage, passwords stored in iCloud keychain, Health app data and Facetime, which are end to end encrypted by default.
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2025
The coin had a tiny metal loop attached to the top, like some sort of good-luck charm you’d hang on a keychain.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
