keyboard

keyboard — noun

1. a flat board with a set of small buttons marked with letters, numbers, and symbo

1.nounA1
Definition

a flat board with a set of small buttons marked with letters, numbers, and symbols, used for typing text or giving commands to a computer, phone, or tablet

Example

Kian spilled water on his keyboard and had to buy a new one.

collocation: spill [liquid] on a keyboard

The keyboard on Mira's new laptop has a row of number keys at the top.

keyboard + on [device]

Common collocations
  • wireless keyboard
  • mechanical keyboard
  • on-screen keyboard
  • keyboard shortcut
  • keyboard layout
  • keyboard tray
  • clean the keyboard
Synonyms
  • keypad

    a smaller set of keys, like the number pad on a phone or calculator, not a full typing board.

Grammar Patterns

[countable] keyboard + verb (is/has)

Usage Note

Often used with prepositions like 'on' (something is on the keyboard) and 'at' (someone is sitting at the keyboard).

Common Mistakes

I need to clean my key.
I need to clean my keyboard.
a key is one single button; the keyboard is the whole board that holds all the keys.
He bought a new key for his computer.
He bought a new keyboard for his computer.
unless you mean one single button, use 'keyboard' for the whole device.

2. on a piano, organ, or similar instrument, the long row of light and dark buttons

2.nounA2
Definition

on a piano, organ, or similar instrument, the long row of light and dark buttons that you press one by one with your fingers to play notes of different pitch

Example

Sofia ran her fingers across the piano keyboard from the lowest note to the highest.

piano keyboard — instrument-specific collocation

The black keys on the keyboard are arranged in groups of two and three.

black keys — colour-name collocation

Common collocations
  • black keys
  • white keys
  • piano keyboard
  • the keyboard of a piano
  • run fingers across the keyboard
Synonyms
  • keys

    the individual buttons on a keyboard; 'keys' can be used as a shorter alternative when the instrument is clear from context.

  • manual

    a technical term for a keyboard played with the hands, especially on an organ.

Grammar Patterns

[countable] the/this keyboard + verb

Usage Note

When talking about a piano, 'keyboard' refers to the whole set of keys. The individual parts of a keyboard are called 'keys' (short for 'piano keys').

Common Mistakes

She pressed a piano keyboard.
She pressed a piano key.
the keyboard is the entire row; each individual piece you press is a key.

3. a musical device powered by electricity, with a set of keys similar to a small p

3.nounA2
Definition

a musical device powered by electricity, with a set of keys similar to a small piano, able to copy the sounds of many different instruments and play in different musical styles

Example

Kwame's band uses a keyboard to fill in the sound of strings and horns.

uses a keyboard — collocation for instrument

Élise carried her light keyboard to the park for an outdoor performance.

Common collocations
  • play the keyboard
  • electronic keyboard
  • keyboard player
  • keyboard stand
  • keyboard case
  • portable keyboard
Synonyms
  • synthesizer

    a type of electronic keyboard that creates sounds by generating and combining electronic signals, often used in studios.

  • electric piano

    an electronic keyboard designed to sound like a traditional piano, without the wide range of other instrument sounds.

Grammar Patterns

[countable] play + the keyboard; [countable] keyboard + verb (sounds/like)

Usage Note

An electronic keyboard is not the same as a piano — it is lighter, can produce many different sounds, and often has built-in rhythms and demo songs.

Common Mistakes

She plays the piano in a pop band.' (when using an electronic keyboard).
She plays the keyboard in a pop band.
an electronic keyboard is a different instrument from a piano.

keyboard — verb

Word family

  • keyboardist
    nounB2
  • key
    nounA1
  • keypad
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A keyboard is the complete board used for typing on a computer, phone, or tablet, with all letter, number, and function keys. A keypad is a smaller set of buttons found on a number pad, calculator, or phone — it does not include the full alphabet. Keys refers to the individual buttons themselves, not the whole device; you press a key, not a keyboard. A typewriter is a mechanical or electric machine with a keyboard that prints letters directly onto paper, used before computers became common. For example, you use a keyboard with a computer, a keypad to enter a PIN on an ATM, and you press the keys on either device. A typewriter produces text on paper without needing a screen.

keyboard ↗keypadkeystypewriter ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • keyboard skills
  • keyboard case
  • keyboard stand
  • keyboard player
  • keyboard tray

Adverbs

Phrases

  • sit at the keyboard
  • type on a keyboard
  • play the keyboard

Prepositions

  • on a keyboard
  • at the keyboard

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

The word 'keyboard' combines 'key' (from Old English 'cæg', meaning a metal tool for opening locks) and 'board' (from Old English 'bord', meaning a flat piece of wood). In the 1700s, 'key' was already used for the levers pressed on musical instruments, so 'keyboard' came to mean the row of keys on a piano or organ. In the mid-1900s, with the invention of computers and typewriters, the same word was used for the input device with lettered buttons. The verb form appeared in the 1960s as computers entered the workplace.