Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The hole in a lock into which a key fits.
  • noun Basketball The key.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To strike lengthwise, cutting in the target a hole which resembles a keyhole: said of a bullet in target-shooting.
  • noun A hole or aperture in a door or lock for receiving a key.
  • noun In carpentry, a hole or excavation passing through beams intended to be joined together, to receive the key which fastens them.—'
  • noun A small piece of water connected with a lake or other larger body; a little lake or bay.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A hole or apertupe in a door or lock, for receiving a key.
  • noun (Carp.) A hole or excavation in beams intended to be joined together, to receive the key which fastens them.
  • noun (Mach.) a mortise for a key or cotter.
  • noun (Zoöl.) a marine gastropod of the genus Fissurella and allied genera. See Fissurella.
  • noun a narrow, slender saw, used in cutting keyholes, etc., as in doors; a kind of compass saw or fret saw.
  • noun (Zoöl.) any one of numerous clypeastroid sea urchins, of the genera Melitta, Rotula, and Encope; -- so called because they have one or more perforations resembling keyholes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The hole in a lock where the key is inserted and turns

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the hole where a key is inserted

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Now, those satellites could possibly be taking a wide -- more wide angle view of the area, or it could be a KH-11, what they call a keyhole satellite, and that takes a very detailed view -- more than commercial satellites can give you now.

    CNN Transcript Oct 5, 2001 2001

  • "On the other hand, if it goes through what we call a keyhole during that close Earth approach … then it will indeed be perturbed just right so that it will come back and smack Earth on April 13, 2036," Yeomans said.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • To seek shelter we decide to go potholing, Irish for spelunking, at the nearby Aillwee Cave, what they call a keyhole cave for the shape of its entrance, and the feeling you get of spying on another world.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Richard Bangs 2012

  • "On the other hand, if it goes through what we call a keyhole during that close Earth approach … then it will indeed be perturbed just right so that it will come back and smack Earth on April 13, 2036," Yeomans said.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • Then use STAR KEY in keyhole, and click key again.

    Archive 2008-09-01 2008

  • This slope of rubble, dotted over here and there with wooden sheds, marks the site of an extensive lead and silver mine, now abandoned; and a tiny hole in the face of the cliff above, no bigger apparently than a keyhole, is pointed out as the entrance to the principal shaft.

    Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys 1873

  • To take advantage of the phenomenon, the company created a descriptive language called keyhole markup language, or KML, which lets anyone annotate maps, not only with their own place markers but also with lines, icons, and three-dimensional shapes.

    Google Maps Is Changing the Way We See the World 2007

  • He might also have something known as keyhole surgery, which involves putting small endoscopes in the heart and doing the same operation while the heart is still beating.

    CNN Transcript Sep 6, 2004 2004

  • We may calculate upon taking the sentry by surprise, as we did in the prison, and on silencing him at once; then we should have time to break up some cartridges, and pour the powder into the keyhole, which is sure to be

    The Tiger of Mysore A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib 1867

  • 'Well, not perhaps for your own honour and conscience, but the keyhole is a more trustworthy medium than the reporter.'

    The Two Sides of the Shield Charlotte Mary Yonge 1862

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