1
: the fundamental or central fact, idea, or mood
sadness is the keynote of this little collection—
Books Abroad
Books AbroadOne keynote of his mind has been his interest in deceit, his perceptions about the use of flimflam in modern life …—Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann2
music
: the first and harmonically fundamental tone of a scale
3
: keynote address
Following Tuesday morning's keynote, sessions progress through all areas.—Jim Rosenberg
Jim RosenbergSprinting from workshops to motivational keynotes featuring famous faces and wannabes, I came away inspired and armed with information …—Peggy Klaus
Peggy Klaus
keynoted; keynoting; keynotes
keynoter
noun
Synonyms
Examples of keynote in a Sentence
Noun
Humor is the keynote of the play.
the need for a greater sense of self-reliance is the keynote of his self-help message
Recent Examples on the WebRance Collins, Variety, 24 Mar. 2024
Premier Li Qiang will deliver a keynote speech this year.
—Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 23 Mar. 2024
Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia will host its global artificial intelligence conference for developers from March 18 to 21, with a keynote speech from CEO Jensen Huang on the docket.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
This year, his schedule includes delivering a rare address before the Australian Parliament as well as the keynote speech at Asia’s premier defense summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore.
—Regine Cabato, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
Tomorrowland co-founder Michiel Beers will also deliver a keynote speech at IMS Ibiza 2024, happening next month on the conference’s namesake island.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024
Human Rights Campaign dinner Jean Smart and Sterling K. Brown were honored at Human Rights Campaign’s annual Los Angeles dinner on Saturday, which also featured a keynote speech from First Lady Jill Biden.
—Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
Also during Sunday's dinner, Biden offered a keynote speech, Brown earned the Ally for Equality Award, and other special guests including Tariq Trotter of The Roots shared words of their own.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Usually, there is always a keynote in the conception of a new menu that tends to determine the orientation of the dishes.
—Chelsea Davis, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 2 Dec. 2023
Commissioner Mary Boyle of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will keynote the conference sharing her perspective on the future of federal e-bike regulations, including priorities for lithium ion batteries, bicycle regulations, product certification and rider safety, the release says.
—Mike Jones, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2023
Biden to keynote symposium on legacy of Truman's order
President Joe Biden will be a keynote speaker at a three-day public symposium marking the 75th anniversary of the event, starting Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 26 July 2023
That was the message of the tech company executives keynoting the annual Open Compute Project Summit, held this week in San Jose, Calif.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Mar. 2016
Sylvester Stallone is set to keynote the Toronto Film Festival as part of the In Conversation With… series where the Rocky and Rambo writer-actor-director will discuss his long Hollywood career, fest organizers said on Monday.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Aug. 2023
After Collins publicly floated the concept in late 2021, the agency took some public steps while defining the project, including holding a workshop in May 2022, keynoted by Collins.
—Darius Tahir, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2023
Per a news release, the conference will be keynoted by attorney Ben Crump, notable civil rights attorney that helped win a landmark victory settlement for Henrietta Lacks’ family regarding the unauthorized use of her cells.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 18 Aug. 2023
According to a recent announcement, Rae will keynote Black Tech Week, an annual conference focused on equity in tech.
—Essence, 9 June 2023
Noun
In addition to the keynote speech from First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Jean Smart and Sterling K. Brown were honored with the National Equality Award and the Ally for Equality Award, respectively.
—Rance Collins, Variety, 24 Mar. 2024
Premier Li Qiang will deliver a keynote speech this year.
—Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 23 Mar. 2024
Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia will host its global artificial intelligence conference for developers from March 18 to 21, with a keynote speech from CEO Jensen Huang on the docket.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
This year, his schedule includes delivering a rare address before the Australian Parliament as well as the keynote speech at Asia’s premier defense summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore.
—Regine Cabato, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
Tomorrowland co-founder Michiel Beers will also deliver a keynote speech at IMS Ibiza 2024, happening next month on the conference’s namesake island.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024
Human Rights Campaign dinner Jean Smart and Sterling K. Brown were honored at Human Rights Campaign’s annual Los Angeles dinner on Saturday, which also featured a keynote speech from First Lady Jill Biden.
—Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
Also during Sunday's dinner, Biden offered a keynote speech, Brown earned the Ally for Equality Award, and other special guests including Tariq Trotter of The Roots shared words of their own.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Usually, there is always a keynote in the conception of a new menu that tends to determine the orientation of the dishes.
—Chelsea Davis, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
In November, for instance, Zhora keynoted the popular Cyberwarcon conference of security researchers in Arlington, Virginia.
—Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 2 Dec. 2023
Commissioner Mary Boyle of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will keynote the conference sharing her perspective on the future of federal e-bike regulations, including priorities for lithium ion batteries, bicycle regulations, product certification and rider safety, the release says.
—Mike Jones, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2023
Biden to keynote symposium on legacy of Truman's order
President Joe Biden will be a keynote speaker at a three-day public symposium marking the 75th anniversary of the event, starting Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 26 July 2023
That was the message of the tech company executives keynoting the annual Open Compute Project Summit, held this week in San Jose, Calif.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Mar. 2016
Sylvester Stallone is set to keynote the Toronto Film Festival as part of the In Conversation With… series where the Rocky and Rambo writer-actor-director will discuss his long Hollywood career, fest organizers said on Monday.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Aug. 2023
After Collins publicly floated the concept in late 2021, the agency took some public steps while defining the project, including holding a workshop in May 2022, keynoted by Collins.
—Darius Tahir, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2023
Per a news release, the conference will be keynoted by attorney Ben Crump, notable civil rights attorney that helped win a landmark victory settlement for Henrietta Lacks’ family regarding the unauthorized use of her cells.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 18 Aug. 2023
According to a recent announcement, Rae will keynote Black Tech Week, an annual conference focused on equity in tech.
—Essence, 9 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'keynote.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near keynote
Cite this Entry
“Keynote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keynote. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
keynote
1 of 2 noun
key·note
ˈkē-ˌnōt 
1
: the first and harmonically fundamental tone of a scale
2
: the fundamental or central fact, idea, or mood
humor is the keynote of the play
keynote
2 of 2 verb1
: to set the keynote of
2
: to give the keynote address at
keynoted the convention
keynoter
noun
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