kettledrum
760
expected: She's not nervous about speaking to a lot of people,
but speaking to a TV camera is a different kettle of fish.
**ket·tle·drum** /'ketldrʌm/ *n* a large metal musical drum with
a round bottom, used in an ORCHESTRA ➔ see TIMPANI
**Ke·vor·ki·an, Jack** /kə'vɔːkiæn|kə'vɔːr-/ (1928-) a US doc-
tor. In the 1980s and 1990s he helped very sick people to kill
themselves because they did not want to continue suffering,
and he was sometimes called Dr Death. He was found guilty
of murder and sent to prison in 1998. ➔ see Cultural Note at
SUICIDE
**Kew Gar·dens** /ˌkjuː 'ɡɑːdnz│-ˈɡɑr-/ the UK's largest and
most important BOTANICAL GARDEN, in West London, which
is open to the public, and which contains plants and trees
from all over the world
**key¹** /kiː/ *n* **1** a specially shaped piece of metal for locking or
unlocking a door, winding a clock, starting and stopping a
car engine etc: *I've lost the ignition key/the car keys. | She put
the key in the lock and turned it.* **2** [(to)] something that
explains or helps one to understand: *There's a key under-
neath the diagram that explains the symbols. | (fig.) The discov-
ery of the murder weapon provided the key to the mystery. | (fig.)
The weather holds the key to our success or failure.* (=we
depend on the weather) **3** any of the parts in a writing or
printing machine or musical instrument that are pressed
down to make it work: *the keys of a piano/a typewriter* **4** a
set of musical notes with a certain starting or base note: *a
tune played in the key of C | I can't sing this – it's in too high a
key for me. | (fig.) The police want to keep the operation in a
fairly low key.* (=make it not very noticeable) ➔ see also
LOW-KEY
**key²** *v* [T(IN, into)] to put (information) into a machine such as
a computer by using the KEYBOARD: *She keyed in all the new
data.* ➔ see also KEYED UP
**key sthg. to sthg.** *phr v* [T often pass.] to make suitable to: *The
course is keyed to the needs of school leavers.*
**key³** *adj* very important; on which others depend: *a key
position in the firm | key men/industries | a key issue in the
forthcoming election | a key witness*
**key⁴** *n* a small island, especially one near the coast of Florida:
*Key West | Key Largo | the Florida Keys*
**Key, Francis Scott** (1779–1843) a US poet, who wrote the
words of *The Star-Spangled Banner*, the NATIONAL ANTHEM
(=official song) of the US
**key·board¹** /'kiːbɔːd│-bɔːrd/ *n* **1** a row or several
rows of keys on a musical
instrument or a machine:
*the keyboard of a piano/a
typewriter/a computer* **2** also
**keyboards** *pl.* a musical
instrument with a keyboard:
*Sally plays keyboards in a
rock group.*
**keyboard²** *v* [i,T] **1** to work
the keyboard of (especially a
computer) **2** also **key** — to
provide a machine with
(information) by working a
keyboard ➔ **-er** *n*
**keyed 'up** *adj* [F(about)] anx-
iously excited or nervous:
*He's very keyed up about the
exam.*
**key·hole** /'kiːhəʊl/ *n* a hole for a key, especially in a door
lock. People sometimes look through or listen at the keyhole
to find out about something private that is taking place on
the other side of a closed door.
**keyhole 'surgery** *n* [U] a medical operation that is done
through a very small hole in the body
**key lime 'pie** *n AmE* a type of PIE filled with a creamy, sweet
and sour mixture made with LIME juice
**'key money** BrE ║ **security deposit** AmE — *n* [U] money,
additional to the rent and usual charges, sometimes
demanded before a person is allowed to begin living in a flat
or house
**Keynes, John May·nard**
/keɪnz, dʒɒn 'meɪnɔːd│
dʒɑːn 'meɪnərd/ (1883–1946)
a British ECONOMIST whose
ideas greatly influenced eco-
nomic thinking in the 20th
century. Keynes believed
that governments should
use public money to control
the level of employment, for
example by spending money
on PUBLIC WORKS (=build-
ings, roads etc built by the
government) in order to pro-
vide more jobs in periods of
high unemployment.
—Keynesian adj: Keynesian
economics
John Maynard Keynes
**key·note** /'kiːnəʊt/ *n* **1** [(of)] the main point, which estab-
lishes a general situation: *The keynote of the discussion was
concern for the jobless. | We'd invited a world-famous expert to
give the keynote speech at the conference.* **2** the particular
note on which a musical key is based
**key·pad** /'kiːpæd/ *n* **1** a small KEYBOARD which can be held
in the hand, such as the ones used for REMOTE CONTROL of
television **2** part of the KEYBOARD of a computer, usually on
the right-hand side, that has keys (usually of numbers)
arranged separately from the letter keys
**key·punch** /'kiːpʌntʃ/ *n AmE* for CARDPUNCH ➔ **-er** *n*
**'key ring** *n* a ring or ring-shaped object on which keys are kept
and carried, often with a FOB
**'key signature** *n tech* a mark in a system of musical writing
that shows the key of a piece of music
**key·stone** /'kiːstəʊn/ *n* [C usually sing.] **1** the middle stone in
the top of an arch, which keeps the other stones in posi-
tion **2** [(of)] an idea, belief etc, on which everything else
depends: *Social justice is the keystone of their political pro-
gramme.*
**Keystone 'Kops, the** a group of characters in humorous
US SILENT FILMS (=old films made with no sound). They are
police officers who are very stupid and are always making silly
mistakes.
**key·stroke** /'kiːstrəʊk/ *n* the action of pressing down and
letting up a key on a TYPEWRITER or computer KEYBOARD: *I'll
show you a way to perform that function using fewer key-
strokes.*
**Key 'West** an island off the coast of Florida, one of the
Florida Keys, which is popular with tourists because of its
warm weather and interesting buildings. It is known for
having a lot of artists and writers.
**key·word** /'kiːwɜːd│-wɜːrd/ *n* a word that you type into a
computer so that it will search for that word on the Internet:
*You can find the site by entering the keyword 'Quark'.*
**KFC** /ˌkeɪ ef 'siː/ *trademark* a chain of FAST FOOD restaurants
selling KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN. KFC is a US company, but
has restaurants all over the world.
**KFOR** /'keɪ fɔːr/ the Kosovo Force; an international force of
soldiers led by NATO that is responsible for protecting the
people who live in Kosovo, and for making sure that the
different ETHNIC groups who live there do not fight and kill
each other
**kg** *written abbrev.* for KILOGRAM(S)
**KGB, the** /ˌkeɪ dʒiː 'biː/ the secret police of the former Soviet
Union. The KGB sent spies (SPY) to foreign countries to
collect military and political information about the enemies
of the Soviet Union. It also collected information about Soviet
citizens who were believed to be enemies of the government.
**kha·ki** /'kɑːki│'kæki, 'kɑːki/ *n* [U] **1** a yellow-brown col-
our **2** cloth of this colour, especially as worn by soldiers
—khaki adj
**kha·kis** /'kɑːkiz│'kækiz, 'kɑː-/ *n* [P] AmE trousers made of
khaki ➔ see PAIR (USAGE)
**Kha-lid Shaikh Mo-ham-med, Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed** /'kɑːlɪd ʃeɪk məʊ'hæmɪd/ (1964–) a Kuwaiti
man who is believed to be the military leader of the