key card

noun

plural key cards
: a small usually plastic card that contains encoded data to electronically open or access something (such as a door or a system)
Hotel room doors are often accessed by a key card programmed by the front desk.Kara Godfrey
Morrill Hall has an open lobby but requires key cards to enter elevators to get to dorm rooms.The Associated Press State & Local Wire
… a plan to buy a $1 million key card voting system …Hillary Chabot

Examples of key card in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While the Wild were at their morning skate at Lenovo Center, Crosby and a few of Fleury’s former teammates managed to get the key card to his hotel room. Michael Russo, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025 When all-aboard time is approaching, the bridge, where the captain sits, starts broadcasting on the loudspeakers, like those of a school principal’s office, the names of passengers who haven’t yet swiped their key cards onto the ship yet. Bridget Read, Curbed, 18 Dec. 2024 In a nod to modernity and environmental friendliness, there are no plastic hotel key cards. Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024 Rettig was in a locked apartment building accessible by a key card. Quinlan Bentley, The Courier-Journal, 19 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for key card 

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of key card was in 1966

Dictionary Entries Near key card

Cite this Entry

“Key card.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/key%20card. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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