Meaning & use
church key
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformalAmerican
A small metal opener with a pointed end for puncturing cans and a notched end for lifting bottle caps.
Grammar: Countable: a church key; two church keys.
Patterns
- open something with a church key
He used a church key to open the bottles of root beer.
My grandfather kept an old church key on a hook in the garage.
You will need a church key to punch holes in that can of juice.
nouncountableold-fashioned
The large key of an old church building.
Grammar: Countable and literal, used in historical or descriptive writing.
Patterns
- the church key
The sexton hung the heavy church key on a nail by the door.
Visitors can ask the vicar for the church key to see the old font.
Word forms
| plural | church keys |
|---|
Common combinations
- use a church key
- You can use a church key to remove the cap.
- old church key
- An old church key hung from the fridge.
- open with a church key
- He opened the can with a church key.
- vintage church key
- Collectors often hunt for a vintage church key.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bottle opener
- Bottle opener is the standard word, while church key is a quirky American term.
- can opener
- Can opener usually names a larger tool for removing a lid, but a church key just pierces a can.
- opener
- Opener is a general word for any such tool, and works in any variety of English.
Word family
Commonly confused: church key or bottle opener?
church key vs bottle opener
Church key is a nickname, while a bottle opener is the standard term and can look quite different.
Practice
What would you most likely use a church key for?
Choose one answer.
In American English a church key is a simple opener for bottle caps and cans. The old church-building sense exists, but the other options are unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “church key”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.