Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to:

Common uses

  • Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message
  • Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument
  • Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock
  • Key (map), a guide to a map's symbology
  • Key (music), the scale of a piece of music
  • Key in a keyboard layout
  • Typewriter
  • Computer keyboard
  • Virtual keyboard

Arts, entertainment and media

Films

  • The Key (1934 film), an American pre-Code film
  • Key Largo (1948 film), starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
  • The Key (1958 film), starring William Holden and Sophia Loren
  • The Key, also known as Odd Obsession, a 1959 Japanese comedy drama
  • The Key (1961 film), a Soviet animated feature
  • The Key (1965 film), a Croatian omnibus film
  • The Key (1971 film), a Czechoslovak drama
  • The Key (1983 film), an Italian erotic film
  • The Key (1987 film), an Iranian film
  • The Key (2007 film), a French thriller film
  • Key (film), a 2011 Telugu-language psychological thriller
  • The Key (2014 film), an American erotic drama film

Literature

  • The Key (Curley novel), by Marianne Curley, 2005
  • The Key (Elfgren and Strandberg novel), by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren, 2013
  • The Key (Tanizaki novel), by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, 1956
  • "The Key" (short story), by Isaac Asimov, 1966
  • The Key, a 1974 children's book by Sheila K. McCullagh, part of the Tim and the Hidden People series
  • The Key: A Startling Enquiry into the Riddle of Man's Past, a 1969 book by John Philip Cohane
  • The Key, a magazine published by Kappa Kappa Gamma
  • "The Key", a short story by Satyajit Ray
  • The Keys (journal), of the League of Coloured Peoples founded in 1933

Music

Bands

  • The Keys (English band), 1979–1983
  • The Keys, a Welsh band successor to Murry the Hump

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), by Alicia Keys, 2021
  • The Keys (EP), by GWSN, 2020

Songs

  • "The Key" (Speech Debelle song), 2009
  • "The Key" (Matt Goss song), 1995
  • "The Key", a song by Ou Est Le Swimming Pool from the 2010 album The Golden Year
  • "Key", a song by Band-Maid from the 2014 album Maid in Japan
  • "The Key", a 2010 song by Edita Abdieski
  • "Key", a song by C418 from the 2011 album Minecraft – Volume Alpha
  • "The Keys", a song by Crazy Town from the 2015 album The Brimstone Sluggers
  • "Key", a song by Porter Robinson from the 2017 EP Virtual Self

Television

  • "The Key" (Code Lyoko), a 2005 episode
  • "The Key" (Danger Man), a 1960 episode
  • "The Key" (Fear the Walking Dead), a 2020 episode
  • "The Key" (Prison Break), a 2006 episode
  • "The Key" (The Walking Dead), a 2018 episode
  • "The Key", an episode of Yes, Prime Minister, 1986
  • "The Keys" (12 Monkeys), a 2015 episode
  • "The Keys" (Seinfeld), a 1992 episode

Other uses in arts, entertainment and media

  • Key (character), a supervillain in the DC Comics universe
  • Key, the title character of Key the Metal Idol, a Japanese original video animation series
  • The Key, a painting by Jackson Pollock

People

  • Key (surname), including a list of people with the surname
  • Keys (surname), including a list of people with the surname
  • Key (entertainer) (born 1991), South Korean entertainer
  • Key Lawrence (born 2001), American football player

Places

  • Cay, or key, a small island on the surface of a coral reef
  • Key Cay, British Virgin Islands

United States

  • Key, Alabama
  • Key, Ohio
  • Keys, Oklahoma
  • Florida Keys

Elsewhere

  • The Keys, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
  • 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 of Mararoa, New Zealand

Science and technology

  • Candidate key, or simply a key, in relational database management systems
  • Unique key
  • A key in an associative array
  • Key (engineering), a machine element used to connect a rotating machine element to a shaft
  • KeY, a tool is used in formal verification of Java programs
  • The Key (smartcard), a British smartcard for public transport ticketing
  • .key, file extension used by Keynote presentation software
  • Identification key, used to identify biological entities
  • Telegraph key, or Morse key, a specialized electrical switch

Sports

  • Key (basketball), a marked area on a basketball court
  • Frederick Keys, an American baseball team

Other uses

  • Key (company), a Japanese visual novel studio
  • Key Airlines, an American former airline
  • Key School, in Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
  • Keys, a truce term used in western Scotland
  • Key light, the primary light in a lighting setup
  • Amazon Key, a service by Amazon Prime
  • House of Keys, the lower branch of the parliament of the Isle of Man
  • Samara (fruit), or key, a type of fruit
  • Yeoman Warders Club in the Tower of London, or "The Keys"
  • KeyBank, an American regional bank based in Cleveland, Ohio
  • Cay, a small island, sometimes spelled "Key"

See also

  • Keay, a surname
  • Keays, a surname
  • Keyes (disambiguation)
  • Keying (disambiguation)
  • Qi (disambiguation)
  • Quay (disambiguation)
  • Keyboard instrument