What does latchkey mean?
A latchkey is a key used to release the latch of a door or gate. In figurative use, it means a means of access, opportunity, or success, especially something that opens the way to a desired result. The word is also remembered through its historical use for a child who carried a house key and let themselves into a home when no parent or other adult was present. This sense was particularly associated with children in working-class urban households. Today, the literal object remains in use, especially in British English, while the figurative sense can sound formal or old-fashioned. Latchkey is notable because it names both a small practical tool and, metaphorically, the means by which an inaccessible place or difficult goal becomes reachable.
nounA key used to open a door, gate, or other latch. Figuratively, it means a means of gaining access, opportunity, or success.
- A key used to open a door or gate by releasing its latch.
- Something that provides access, opportunity, or the means to achieve a difficult goal.
- Historically, a child who carried a key and entered the home without an adult present.
"She turned the latchkey and slipped quietly into the hallway."
"He waited until everyone had left before using his latchkey."
"Her internship proved to be the latchkey to a career in publishing."
The standard plural adds -s.
"The caretaker kept a ring of latchkeys for the building's side entrances."
A latchkey was once a child's pass home: it let a young child enter an unattended house after school.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of latchkey
Latchkey is a Middle English compound formed from the words latch and key, with its earliest attested use dating to the early 14th century. It originally referred literally to the key used to release a door latch and later acquired the figurative sense of a means of access or success. Its formation is transparent: both elements remain recognizable in modern English.
How latchkey is actually used
The literal sense is used in British and American English but is especially characteristic of British usage. The figurative sense is literary and somewhat dated. The historical sense referring to children who returned to empty homes has distinct established forms in British and American English.