keyhole

[kee-hohl]

noun

1. a hole for inserting a key in a lock, especially one in the shape of a circle with a rectangle having a width smaller than the diameter of the circle projecting from the bottom.

2. Also called key. Basketball.,  the area at each end of the court that is bounded by two lines extending from the end line parallel to and equidistant from the sidelines and terminating in a circle around the foul line.

adjective

1. extremely private or intimate, especially with reference to information gained as if by peeping through a keyhole.

2. snooping and intrusive.

   a keyhole investigator.

keyhole

/ ˈkiːˌhəʊl /

noun

1. an aperture in a door or a lock case through which a key may be passed to engage the lock mechanism

2. any small aperture resembling a keyhole in shape or function

3. a transient column of vapour or plasma formed during the welding or cutting of materials, using high energy beams, such as lasers

Word History and Origins

Origin of keyhole¹

First recorded in 1585–95; key ¹ + hole

Example Sentences

Mr Tibbot said carrying out keyhole surgery on Stacey "would have been almost impossible, or would have taken the whole day of operating".

From BBC

Dressed in a revealing keyhole dress and towering beehive wig, Carpenter comes to Simon Says for the ambience and the chance to dress in drag.

From Los Angeles Times

But her pregnancy was too far advanced to allow surgeons to perform standard keyhole surgery.

From BBC

He had four tiny scars in his eye where healthy copies of the gene were injected into the retina at the back of the eye through keyhole surgery.

From BBC

A nurse has become the first person in the UK to undergo an operation that saw a tumour removed through her eye socket using keyhole surgery.

From BBC

Related Words

• break 
• crack 
• crater 
• cut 
• dent 
• gap 
• mouth 
• pit 
• pocket 
• tunnel 
• void 
• window