passkey

noun

pass·​key ˈpas-ˌkē 

plural passkeys

1

: a key that provides special access (as to a secure area)

… left his swipe-card passkey behind when he stepped outside the tower's secure door and was unable to get back in …

—UPI.com

: such as

a

: a key designed to open any of a set of similar locks : master key

b

: a key with a large part of the bit filed away to enable it to open low quality locks as a master key : skeleton key

2

: an authentication method that uses biometrics (such as fingerprint or facial recognition) to identify and grant access to an authorized user

Instead of a vulnerable password, passkeys work by using your biometric data as your login 'fingerprint.' For example, you could use the Touch ID button on a Mac or a facial recognition scanner on your smartphone to log in to your account. No typing required.

—digitaltrends.com

Examples of passkey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Over 100 sites now offer passkey support, though Dashlane says the top 20 most popular apps account for 52 percent of passkey authentications. —Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 30 July 2024

In July, Google made this an even more attractive security option by doing away with the need to purchase expensive hardware keys and instead opening the program up to users with passkeys as well. —Davey Winder, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2024

Password manager Dashlane has released a new passkey report that gives us some idea of how many people are adopting the cryptographic passwordless logins. —Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 30 July 2024

According to the report, Dashlane has seen a 400 percent increase in passkey authentications since the beginning of the year, with 1 in 5 active Dashlane users now having at least one passkey in their Dashlane vault. —Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 30 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1633, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

passkey

noun

pass·​key ˈpas-ˌkē 

1

: a key for opening two or more locks

2

: skeleton key