keyword
Americannoun
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a word that serves as a key, as to the meaning of another word, a sentence, passage, or the like.
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a word used to encipher or decipher a cryptogram, as a pattern for a transposition procedure or the basis for a complex substitution.
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Also called catchword. Library Science. a significant or memorable word or term in the title, abstract, or text of a document or other item being indexed, used as the index entry.
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Digital Technology. a word used to classify or organize digital content, or to facilitate an online search for information.
Search the database for the keyword “Ireland.”
noun
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a word used as a key to a code
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any significant word or phrase, esp a word used to describe the contents of a document
Etymology
Origin of keyword
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.
In one test, participants listened to lists of related words that were connected by a theme, but the central keyword tying them together was never spoken.
From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2026
“On search, our AI features rely on our core search ranking systems that have been honed for years against activity like keyword stuffing,” says a Google spokesman.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
The company said at the time it had "strengthened its keyword blacklist to further prevent attempted circumvention of product listing restrictions by sellers".
From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025
Web of Science data show publications mentioning MTurk as a keyword went from 34 in 2010 to a peak of 989 in 2021.
From Science Magazine • May 9, 2024
The “unbreakable” Pletts Cryptograph relied in part on keyword ciphers, a type of substitution cipher.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
