latch·key

(lăch′kē′)

A key for opening a latch or lock, especially one on an outside door.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

latchkey

(ˈlætʃˌkiː)

1. a key for an outside door or gate, esp one that lifts a latch

a. a supposed freedom from restrictions

b. (as modifier): a latchkey existence.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

latch•key

(ˈlætʃˌki)

n., pl. -keys.

a key for releasing a latch or springlock, esp. on an outer door.

[1815–25]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

latchkey - key for raising or drawing back a latch or opening an outside door

key - metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated

Translations

مِفْتاح الباب الرَّئيسي

domovní klíč

gadedørsnøgle

Schlüssel

kapukulcs

lykill

chiave di casa

gatedørsnøkkel husnøkkel

dış kapı anahtarı

大门钥匙

latchkey

[ˈlætʃkiː]

A. N → llave f

B. CPD latchkey child N → niño/a m/f cuya madre trabaja

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

latchkey

[ˈlætʃkiː] n → clé f (de la porte d'entrée)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

latchkey

n → Hausschlüssel m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

latchkey

[ˈlætʃˌkiː] n → chiave f di casa

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

latch

(lӕtʃ) noun

a catch of wood or metal used to fasten a door etc. She lifted the latch and walked in.

ˈlatchkey noun

a small front-door key. She put her latchkey in the lock.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

In his testimony before the coroner he explained that having no latchkey and not caring to disturb the sleeping servants, he had, with no clearly defined intention, gone round to the rear of the house.

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I let myself in with my latchkey, closed, locked and bolted the door, staggered to the foot of the staircase, and sat down.

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But to my intense surprise those people stopped at it and the man in the top hat, producing a latchkey, let his two companions through, followed them, and with a heavy slam cut himself off from my astonished self and the rest of mankind.

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He heard her cheerful "Good-night, cabby," as she ran up the steps and opened the door with a latchkey. In a few moments the lights flared up brightly behind the white curtains, and as he walked away he heard a window raised.

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Margaret fumbled for her latchkey. Of course she had forgotten it.

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He had scarcely left the room, and allowed the ticking to become audible again, when a quick hand turned a latchkey in the house- door, opened it, and shut it.

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Taking a latchkey from the girl and the coin from Hawker, Flambeau let himself and his friend into the empty house and passed into the outer parlour.

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He was still deep in gloomy thought when he inserted his latchkey and opened the door of his flat.

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And he jingled the skeleton bunch that he carried on a chain as honest men carry their latchkeys.

View in context

In HA[c]ctor Tobar's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Latchkey Child," time drips away for a boy whose mother is out trying to get lost in Los Angeles.

Freeman's; California

He is also the author of "A Latchkey Kid's Take on Modern Cinema," a collection of essays and reviews that examines the works of more than 120 directors of contemporary and classic films.

Emmy-Winning Author Travis Yates New Book Highlights Dog's Improbable Recovery From Spinal Stroke