keyhole

English

A doorknob with a keyhole.

Etymology

From key +‎ hole.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkiˌhoʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

keyhole (plural keyholes)

1. The hole in a lock where the key is inserted and turns.
2. Any small opening resembling the hole for a key in shape or function.
3. A circle cut out of a garment as a decorative effect, typically at the front or back neckline of a dress.
4. (carpentry) A hole or excavation in beams intended to be joined together, to receive the key that fastens them.
5. (engineering) A mortise for a key or cotter.
6. (lasers) A transient column of vapor or plasma formed when using high energy beams, such as lasers, for welding or cutting.

   laser keyhole welding

   keyhole plasma

7. (metallurgy) A welding method in which a hole forms in the surface immediately ahead of the puddle in the direction of welding. The hole is filled as the weld progresses.
8. (basketball) The free-throw lane together with the circle surrounding the free-throw line; key.
9. (astronomy) A gravitational keyhole.

Derived terms

• keyhole limpet
• keyhole limpet hemocyanin
• keyhole saw
• keyhole urchin

 

Translations

a hole to lock/unlock with a key

• Armenian: բանալու անցք (banalu ancʿkʿ)
• Bulgarian: ключалка (bg) f (ključalka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鎖孔／锁孔 (zh) (suǒkǒng), 鑰匙孔／钥匙孔 (yàoshi kǒng)

• Czech: klíčová dírka f
• Danish: nøglehul n
• Dutch: sleutelgat (nl)
• Esperanto: ŝlosiltruo
• Finnish: avaimenreikä (fi)
• French: trou de la serrure (fr) m
• Galician: pechadura f, fechadura f, ferrollo (gl) m
• Georgian: კლიტის ჭუჭრუტანა (ḳliṭis č̣uč̣ruṭana)
• German: Schlüsselloch (de) n
• Greek: κλειδαρότρυπα (el) f (kleidarótrypa)
• Greenlandic: matuersaaserfik
• Hebrew: חור המנעול‎ m (khor haman'úl)
• Hungarian: kulcslyuk (hu)
• Icelandic: skráargat n
• Indonesian: lubang kunci (id)
• Irish: poll eochrach m
• Italian: toppa (it) f, buco della serratura m
• Japanese: 鍵穴 (ja) (かぎあな, kagiana)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 열쇠 구멍 (yeolsoe gumeong)
• Latin: claustellum n
• Luxembourgish: Schlëssellach n
• Macedonian: клучалка f (klučalka)
• Malay: lubang kunci
• Mongolian: цоожны нүх (coožny nüx)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: nøkkelhull n

• Persian: سوراخ کلید‎ (surâx-e kelid)
• Plautdietsch: Schlätelloch n
• Polish: dziurka od klucza f
• Portuguese: fechadura (pt) f, tranca (pt) f
• Romanian: gaura cheii (ro) f
• Russian: замо́чная сква́жина (ru) f (zamóčnaja skvážina)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кључаоница f, кључница f

  Roman: ključaonica (sh) f, ključnica f

• Slovak: kľúčová dierka f
• Slovene: ključanica f
• Spanish: ojo (de la cerradura) m
• Swedish: nyckelhål (sv) n
• Tagalog: susian, butas-susian
• Tajik: сӯрохи калид (süroxi kalid)
• Thai: รูกุญแจ
• Tibetan: ལྡེ་ཁུང (lde khung)
• Turkish: anahtar deliği
• Ukrainian: за́мкова щі́ли́на f (zámkova ščílýna)
• Vietnamese: lỗ khoá
• Volapük: kikahog (vo)

Verb

keyhole (third-person singular simple present keyholes, present participle keyholing, simple past and past participle keyholed)

1. (firearms) To strike a target after wobbling in flight so that the long axis of the bullet does not follow the line of flight, typically due to insufficient spin resulting from the rifling in the barrel.

Derived terms

• keyhole neckline
• keyhole surgery
• keyhole wound