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Glite Dictionary
🔑 A master key 🔐 A special code
passkey

passkey

2 6.0
A key that opens every lock in a set, like all rooms in a building
  • noun
  • /ˈpæski/
translation icon : llave maestra
  • Are you the party that wanted the passkey?
  • use my passkey

Examples

  • The security officer used a passkey to open the locked doors and check on the emergency exit.

  • I got a passkey.

    Some Like It Hot (1959)

  • Sir, I need your passkey immediately.

    Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

  • And we will put the passkey in it.

    Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994)

  • The club gives me a passkey, so I go through them.

    Jagged Edge (1985)

  • I knocked, got no answer, so I used my passkey.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I'm the proprietor of this hotel and I have a passkey to every room in it.

    The Cocoanuts (1929)

  • He hauled out a ring of keys, found his master passkey, and fitted it in the lock.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • As the hotel manager, I always carry a passkey to access any guest room at a moment's notice.

  • When the staff meeting ended, I used my passkey to unlock the conference room for cleanup.

Synonyms

master
vspasskey
37 6.1

A key that opens many different locks in a building

applies to all locks and rooms, not only the main ones
master key
vspasskey
4 3.4

A key that opens many different locks in a building

covers every lock and room in the set rather than only several
passe-partout
vspasskey
9.9

A key that opens many locks in a building

covers all locks in a set rather than only selected ones

How Universal

skeleton key
  • Specialized
7.5
passkey
2 6.0
master key
4 3.4
key
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

passkey singular
passkeys plural

Morphology

passkey = pass + key (transparent) = pass + key

The compound 'pass' + 'key' straightforwardly denotes a key that grants passage/permission to multiple locks, so a learner knowing 'pass' and 'key' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Passkey comes from the parts pass ('to go through' or 'allow') and key ('tool to open locks'). So a passkey is a key that lets you 'pass' into every room and open all the locks.