skeleton key
noun
Simple meaning
A passkey with much of the bit filed away so that it can open different locks.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
skehluhtuhnkeeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈskɛlətənˈki
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A passkey with much of the bit filed away so that it can open different locks
A key that has parts filed away so that it will open a range of locks.
A very simple design of key that usually has a cylindrical shaft (sometimes called a "shank") and a single, minimal flat, rectangular tooth or "bit".
A master key.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A passkey with much of the bit filed away so that it can open different locks
Used this way, skeleton key is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.