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

Google provides a substantial amount of passkey storage, up to 250 resident passkeys—far more than the 100 passkeys allowed by Yubico's Security Key C. —PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2025

To that end, Apple has also implemented new standards developed by the FIDO Alliance for importing and exporting passkeys between different apps that support them. —ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 2025

Mastercard plans to remove the 16-digit primary account number (PAN) from all credit and debit cards, replacing it with tokenization, passkeys and biometrics. —Kevin Pierce, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025

Unlike other operating systems, these passkeys aren’t synced across your devices. —Jacob Roach, Wired News, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1633, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for passkey

• ascii

Kids Definition

passkey

noun

pass·​key ˈpas-ˌkē 

1

: a key for opening two or more locks

2

: skeleton key