Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shift key

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.46 in modern English

Syllables
shift key
IPA
21
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The key on a typewriter used to select uppercase letters and certain special characters by physically moving the mechanism

noun

A key on a personal computer or terminal keyboard used to effect the same function, or to change the function of the function keys.

Etymology

First use appears c. 1883 in the listing of U.S. Patents.

Inflected Forms

shift keys (plural)

Synonyms

shift

Questions

What does shift key mean?
The key on a typewriter used to select uppercase letters and certain special characters by physically moving the mechanism
Where does shift key come from?
First use appears c. 1883 in the listing of U.S. Patents.

How to pronounce shift key

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