Key or The Key may refer to:

Common meanings

Key (cryptography) A key in cryptography is a piece of information, usually a string of numbers or letters that are stored in a file, which, when processed through a cryptographic algorithm, can encode or decode cryptographic data. Based on the used method, the key c ...

, a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm *

Key (lock) A lock is a mechanics, mechanical or Electronics, electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, Keycard lock, keycard, fingerprint, Radio-frequency identification, RFID card, security token or coin), by supplyi ...

, device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock *

Key (map) A map symbol or cartographic symbol is a graphical device used to visually represent a real-world feature on a map, working in the same fashion as other forms of symbols. Map symbols may include point markers, lines, regions, continuous fields ...

, a guide to a map's symbology *

Key (music) In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in classical, Western art, and Western pop music. The group features a '' tonic note'' and its corresponding ''chords'', a ...

, a group of pitches in a piece * Key, on a

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology ...

* Answer key, a list of answers to a

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

Geography

Cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

, also spelled key, a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of a coral reef

United States

* Key, Alabama *

Key, Ohio Key is an unincorporated community in Belmont County, Ohio, Belmont County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History A post office called Key was established in 1879, and remained in operation until 1933. Key was formerly called Bethel. In addition to th ...

Key, West Virginia Key is an unincorporated community in Pendleton County, West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographe ...

Keys, Oklahoma Keys is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 565 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Geography Keys ...

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

, an archipelago of about 1,700 islands in the southeast United States

Elsewhere

Rural Municipality of Keys No. 303 The Rural Municipality of Keys No. 303 (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 population: ) is a List of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, rural municipality (RM) in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Divis ...

, Saskatchewan, Canada *

Key, Iran Key ( fa, كي; also known as Keh) is a village in Tudeshk Rural District, Kuhpayeh District, Isfahan County, Isfahan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in ...

, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran *

Key Island Key Island, with the adjacent Key Reef, is a granite island, with an area of 6 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Long Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait west of Cape Barren Island in the Furneaux Group. The ketc ...

, Tasmania, Australia *

The Key, New Zealand Mararoa is a rural area and statistical area in New Zealand's Southland District. The area broadly corresponds to the course of the Mararoa River and the eastern part of Te Anau Basin, and includes the Mavora Lakes and the settlement of Manapour ...

, a locality in Southland, New Zealand

Arts and media

Films

* ''The Key'' (1934 film), a 1934 film directed by Michael Curtiz * ''The Key'' (1958 film), a war film directed by Carol Reed, starring William Holden and Sophia Loren * ''The Key'', also known as ''

Odd Obsession is a 1959 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It was based on the novel '' The Key'', by Japanese novelist Junichirō Tanizaki. Plot A man who suspects ...

'', a 1959 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa * ''The Key'' (1961 film), a Soviet animated feature * ''The Key'' (1965 film), a Yugoslav omnibus film * ''The Key'' (1971 film), a Czechoslovakian drama * ''The Key'' (1983 film), an Italian erotic film directed by Tinto Brass, starring Stefania Sandrelli * '' Kelid'' (''The Key''), a 1987 Iranian film written by Abbas Kiarostami * ''The Key'' (2007 film), a French thriller film directed by Guillaume Nicloux * ''Key'' (film), a 2011 film * ''The Key'' (2014 film), an American film directed by Jefery Levy

Literature

* ''The Key'' (Curley novel), a 2005 novel by Marianne Curley * ''The Key'' (Elfgren and Strandberg novel), a 2013 novel by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren * ''The Key'' (Tanizaki novel), a 1956 novel by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki * "The Key" (short story), a 1966 short story by Isaac Asimov * ''The Key'', a 1969 book of etymology by John Philip Cohane * ''The Key'', a magazine published by

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States a ...

*''The Key'', a music publication of

WXPN WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows ...

in Philadelphia

Music

, the scale of a piece of music *

Key (instrument) A key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depend on the instrument. On instruments equipped with tuning machines such as guitars or mandolins, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a ...

, part of a musical instrument used for playing or tuning * Keys, short for

keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital piano ...

Albums

* ''Key'' (Meredith Monk album), 1971 * ''Key'' (Son, Ambulance album), 2004 * ''The Key'' (Joan Armatrading album), 1983 * ''The Key'' (Vince Gill album), 1998 * ''The Key'' (Nocturnus album), 1990 * ''The Key'' (Operation: Mindcrime album), 2015 * ''Keys'' (album), a 2021 album by Alicia Keys

Songs

* "The Key" (Speech Debelle song), 2009 * "The Key" (Matt Goss song), 1995 * "The Key" (Ou Est Le Swimming Pool song), 2010 * "Key", a song from the album ''

Maid in Japan ''Maid in Japan'' is the debut mini-album by Japanese all-female rock band Band-Maid Band-Maid (stylized as BAND-MAID® until 2016) is a Japanese rock band formed in 2013, consisting of singer Saiki Atsumi, guitarist/singer Miku Kobato, lead ...

'' by Band-Maid * "The Key", a song by

Edita Abdieski Edita Abdieski (born November 14, 1984) is a Swiss pop singer. She rose to fame during the debut series of the German ''X Factor'' show, which she won in November 2010. Early life Abdieski is the eldest child born to a Macedonian Albanian fat ...

* "Key", a song from the album ''

Minecraft – Volume Alpha ''Minecraft – Volume Alpha'' is the second studio album and first soundtrack album by German electronic musician Daniel Rosenfeld, known by his pseudonym C418. It was digitally released on 4 March 2011 independently as the first installment o ...

'' by C418

Television

* "The Key" (''Code Lyoko'' episode), 2005 * "The Key" (''Prison Break'' episode), 2006 * "The Key" (''The Walking Dead''), 2018 * "The Key" (''Yes, Prime Minister''), 1986 * "The Keys" (''Seinfeld''), a 1992 TV episode

Other uses in arts and media

Key (character) Key is the name of a supervillain in the DC Comics universe, a long-time and highly dangerous opponent of the Justice League. The character continues to appear in Justice League and Batman comics, with a ghoulish (rather than human) appearance ...

, a supervillain in the DC Comics universe * ''

Kirby's Epic Yarn ''Kirby's Epic Yarn'' is a platform video game developed by Good-Feel and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is an installment of the ''Kirby'' series and was released in October 2010 in Japan and North America and in February 2011 in Austral ...

'' (''KEY''), a 2010 game by Nintendo * Key, the title character of ''

Key the Metal Idol is a Japanese original video animation (OVA) series that was released from December 1994 to June 1997. The series consists of fifteen episodes divided into four parts. ''First Program'' consists of episodes 1 through 7. ''Second Program'' is ...

'', a Japanese anime OVA series * The Key, a painting by

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...

People

Key (entertainer) Kim Ki-bum (born September 23, 1991), better known by his stage name Key, is a South Korean rapper, singer, dancer, songwriter, actor, fashion designer and television presenter. Born and raised in Daegu, South Korea, he later travelled to Seou ...

(born 1991), South Korean entertainer * Key (surname) * Keys (surname)

Sports

Key (basketball) The key, officially referred to as the free throw lane by the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Federation of ...

, a restricted area around the basketball net *

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masco ...

, a Double-A minor league baseball team

Technology

Key (computing) In relational database management systems, a unique key is a candidate key that is not the primary key of the relation. All the candidate keys of a relation can uniquely identify the records of the relation, but only one of them is used as the prima ...

, a field in a computer file or database used to sort or retrieve records *

Key (engineering) In mechanical engineering, a key is a machine element used to connect a rotating machine element to a shaft. The key prevents relative rotation between the two parts and may enable torque transmission. For a key to function, the shaft and rotating ...

, a type of coupling used to transmit rotation between a shaft and an attached item *

KeY Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

, a software verification tool * The Key (smartcard), a contactless smartcard for public transport ticketing in Britain * .key, file extension used by

Keynote A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

Identification key In biology, an identification key, taxonomic key, or biological key is a printed or computer-aided device that aids the identification of biological entities, such as plants, animals, fossils, microorganisms, and pollen grains. Identification k ...

, used to identify biological entities *

Telegraph key A telegraph key is a specialized electrical switch used by a trained operator to transmit text messages in Morse code in a telegraphy system. Keys are used in all forms of electrical telegraph systems, including landline (also called wire) t ...

, the button used by a telegraph operator

Other uses

Key (company) Key is a Japanese visual novel studio known for making dramatic and plot-oriented titles. It was formed on July 21, 1998, as a brand under the publisher Visual Arts, and is located in Kita, Osaka. Key's debut visual novel '' Kanon'' (1999) comb ...

, a Japanese visual novel studio *

The Key School The Key School is an independent coeducational school, located in the neighborhood of Hillsmere Shores in Annapolis, Maryland. The Key School was established by a group of tutors from St. John's College in 1958. Key is a member of the National ...

, an independent coeducational school in Annapolis, Maryland * Keys, a

truce term A truce term is a word or short phrase accepted within a community of children as an effective way of calling for a temporary respite or truce during a game or activity, such as tag or its variants. Common examples in English speaking cultures a ...

used in western Scotland * Amazon Key, a service by

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

allowing customers to get deliveries inside of their home or car *

House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in ...

, the directly elected lower branch of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man *

Samara (fruit) A samara (, ) is a winged achene, a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit, and is indehiscent (not opening along a seam). The shape of a samara enables t ...

or key, a type of fruit