Key

Key or The Key may refer to:

Common meanings

• Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message
• Key (lock), an object needed to open a mechanical lock
• Key (map), a guide to a map's symbology
• A typewriter or computer keyboard key
• Answer key, a list of answers to a test

In music

• Key (music), the scale of a piece of music
• Key (instrument), finger-operated mechanism in musical instruments
• Keys, colloquial term for keyboard instruments

Geography

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

United States

• Key, Alabama
• Key, Ohio
• Key, West Virginia
• Keys, Oklahoma
• Florida Keys, an archipelago of about 1,700 islands in the southeast United States

Elsewhere

• Rural Municipality of Keys No. 303, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Key, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran
• Key Island, Tasmania, Australia
• The Key, New Zealand, 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, 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
• The Key, a music publication of WXPN in Philadelphia

Music

For common meanings of the word "key" in music, see § Common meanings.

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 by Band-Maid
• "The Key", a song by Edita Abdieski
• "Key", a song from the album Minecraft – Volume Alpha 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), a supervillain in the DC Comics universe
• Kirby's Epic Yarn (KEY), a 2010 game by Nintendo
• Key, the title character of Key the Metal Idol, a Japanese anime OVA series
• The Key, a painting by Jackson Pollock

People

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

Sports

• Key (basketball), a restricted area around the basketball net
• Frederick Keys, a Double-A minor league baseball team

Technology

See also: § Common meanings

• Key (computing), a field in a computer file or database used to sort or retrieve records
• Key (engineering), a type of coupling used to transmit rotation between a shaft and an attached item
• KeY, a software verification tool
• The Key (smartcard), a contactless smartcard for public transport ticketing in Britain
• .key, file extension used by Keynote
• Identification key, used to identify biological entities
• Telegraph key, the button used by a telegraph operator

Other uses

• Key (company), a Japanese visual novel studio
• The Key School, an independent coeducational school in Annapolis, Maryland
• Keys, a truce term used in western Scotland
• Amazon Key a service by Amazon Prime allowing customers to get deliveries inside of their home or car
• House of Keys, the directly elected lower branch of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man
• Samara (fruit) or key, a type of fruit

See also

• All pages with titles beginning with Key
• All pages with titles containing Key
• Keay, a surname
• Keyes (disambiguation)
• Keying (disambiguation)
• Quay (disambiguation)
• Qi (disambiguation)
• The Keys (disambiguation)