noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A speech that sets the main theme of a conference or other gathering; a keynote speech or keynote address.
2. 2
   a fundamental or central idea wordnet
3. 3
   The main theme of a speech, a written work, or a conference.
4. 4
   (music) the first note of a diatonic scale wordnet
5. 5
   The note on which a musical key is based; the tonic.

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6. 6
   the principal theme in a speech or literary work wordnet

Verb

1. 1
   To deliver a speech that sets the main theme of a conference or other gathering. transitive
2. 2
   set the keynote of wordnet
3. 3
   give the keynote address to (an audience) wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

tonicaromaattributebadgebannerbe characteristic

Example

More examples

"She has been invited to give the keynote speech at their annual conference."

Etymology

From key + note.

Related phrases

keynote speechkeynote addresskeynote speech

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.