Latchkey

//ˈlæt͡ʃˌki// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A key, especially to an outside door.
  2. 2
    Alternative letter-case form of latchkey; especially when referring to a latchkey program. alt-of, uncountable
  3. 3
    key for raising or drawing back a latch or opening an outside door wordnet
  4. 4
    Ellipsis of latchkey kid. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
  5. 5
    Ellipsis of latchkey program. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

    "Latchkey is before and after school childcare for children who are in grades K-5."

Verb
  1. 1
    To open something by means of a latchkey. transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Equipped with a key; generally in the phrase latchkey kid. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Pertaining to unsupervised children in afterschool care contexts. not-comparable

    "In fashionable Potomac, for instance, almost 50 percent of the nonparental care was latchkey."

Synonyms

All synonyms
check keycorkscrewkeylatchkey programopen sesameopener

Example

More examples

"From about age 6, I led the life of a latchkey kid."

Etymology

From latch + key.

Related phrases

latchkey childlatchkey kidlatchkey program

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