Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
the key to

the key to

228 2.8
The main thing that makes something succeed or work
  • idiom
translation icon : clave para
  • Effective communication is the key to building strong relationships.
  • the key to success
  • the key to understanding
  • hold the key to

And I think that's the key to staying OK.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Some wonder whether Google might hold the key to a solution.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Increased government engagement with the private sector is the key to continued progress in this new environment.

    Academic text (2008)

  • And those two things, those things are the key to success on the platform.

    Peter McKinnon

  • Follow up is truly the key to success in this business.

    Tom Ferry

  • Fuel management is the key to safe flying.

    Here (2024)

  • You see, the key to this game is being able to read people.

    How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

  • What do you think is the key to happiness?

    The Basement Yard

  • Tackling the cause of the violence and not the symptoms is the key to lasting success.

    Academic text (2011)

  • It's a realization that we are the key to our own recovery.

    TED-Ed

  • I was dramatically reminded that relationships are the key to what schools accomplish.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

key ingredient
vsthe key to
12 3.5

The most important part of something, often in a recipe or plan

is about the element or means needed to achieve or understand something
crucial ingredient
vsthe key to
1 3.5

An important thing needed for something to work or succeed

focuses on the essential means to achieve or understand rather than mere necessity

How Essential

vitalness
5.7
the key to
228 2.8
causal factor
  • Specialized
1 4.5

Surface Forms

the key to singular
the keys to plural

Morphology

the + key + to

The meaning is transparently derived from 'key' as something that gives an answer or 'unlocks' a solution combined with the preposition 'to' linking it to the domain (e.g., success). This metaphorical extension is conventional in English and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The phrase the key to comes from the small metal key that opens a lock or door and lets you into a room of answers. So when we say the key to something, we mean the one important thing that opens the way to a result or helps you 'understand' or 'achieve' it.