Definition of "clef" [clef]

• Music A symbol indicating the pitch represented by one line of a staff, in relation to which the other pitches of the staff can be determined. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "mettre la clef sous la porte clefs en main clé à bougie la clef des champs livre à clef*"
• "He had several nose jobs, his lips thinned, and chin clef put in, among other alterations."
• "I wonder if livre à clef is a 'book key' or an index?"