skeleton key

English

Noun

skeleton key (plural skeleton keys)

1. 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".
2. A key that has parts filed away so that it will open a range of locks

Translations

a key that opens a range of locks

• Dutch: loper (nl) m
• French: passe-partout (fr) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: universalnøkkel (no) m

  Nynorsk: universalnykel (nn) m, universalnøkkel (nn) m

• Portuguese: chave-mestra (pt) f
• Russian: ключ от всех дверей (ru) (ključ ot vsex dveréj) m
• Spanish: llave maestra (es) f

See also

• passkey