key card

noun

plural key cards

: a small usually plastic card that contains encoded data to electronically open or access something (such as a door or a system)

Hotel room doors are often accessed by a key card programmed by the front desk.—

Kara Godfrey

Morrill Hall has an open lobby but requires key cards to enter elevators to get to dorm rooms.—

The Associated Press State & Local Wire

… a plan to buy a $1 million key card voting system …—

Hillary Chabot

Examples of key card in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the era of cybersecurity and hacking nightmares, hotels are increasingly adopting digital wallets as a solution to security concerns associated with traditional key cards. —

Gene Marks, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024 Plastic hotel key cards have had a rough few years. —

Kevin Williams, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2024 More access points will require key cards for entry, and there will be additional panic buttons. —

Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2024 Here are its scariest safety scandals Dish soap and hotel key cards were used on parts of Boeing planes, FAA says in safety audit In 2018, a Lion Air-opeated 737 Max 8 crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board. —

Melvin Backman, Quartz, 21 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for key card

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'key card.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.