Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

church key

/ˈtʃɝtʃ.ki/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.84 in modern English

Syllables: church key
IPA: /ˈtʃɝtʃ.ki/

26

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An opener, typically with both can opener and bottle opener features, having a triangular tip that pierces the can.

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see church, key.

Example Sentences

"Nobody was killed, but a guy from the rival gang was supposed to have had his eyes popped out with a church key."
""[…]Once you didn't need a church key to open a can of beer much anymore, they didn't need me to go around handing out church keys anymore either.""
"The triangle end of the church key was the most important part in the early days. To get into the cans, drinkers would create two triangular Vs in the top of the can (opposite each other to let air in so the beer would pour out easily) and away they went. The other end of the church key was used to pop off the “crown cork” that is still in use to seal glass beer bottles today."

Etymology

See Wikipedia at church key § Etymology.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtʃɝtʃ.ki/
British English: /ˈtʃəːtʃ.ki/

Inflected Forms

church keys (plural) churchkey (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce church key?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtʃɝtʃ.ki/.
What does church key mean?: An opener, typically with both can opener and bottle opener features, having a triangular tip that pierces the can.
Where does church key come from?: See Wikipedia at church key § Etymology.

How to pronounce church key

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “church key”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtʃɝtʃ.ki/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “church key”.
Repeat and practice — Say “church key” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.