Key Crossword Clue

We have the 5-letter answer for Key crossword clue, last seen in the Seattle Times New Crossword September 17, 2026 puzzle. Sometimes we all need some help finding the answer!

Key Crossword Answer

→98.

Find more clues, hints, and info below.

Hide

Find more clues, hints, and info below.

ISLE

(4 letters)

VITAL

(5 letters)

CORE

(4 letters)

CRUCIAL

(7 letters)

Helpful Hints

(noun)
1. a small island

Hint 2: Clue Definition

KEY (noun)
1. a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida
2. (basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of the basket at each end of a basketball court; usually painted a different color from the rest of the court
KEY (verb)
1. identify as in botany or biology, for example
2. harmonize with or adjust to
KEY (adjective)
1. serving as an essential component

Hint 3: Other Answers Used in the Past

ISLE
(4 letters)
VITAL
(5 letters)
CORE
(4 letters)
CRUCIAL
(7 letters)

Hint 4: Anagram

Unscramble the letters below to solve for today's answer.
ISTLE

More WSJ Crossword (11/22/2025) Answers

Across

1. Break ground, perhaps

4. Line on a check

8. Reach for the stars

14. Royal attendant

18. Mr. Potato Head piece

19. Laughfest

20. Blue Origin rival

21. Nation on the Arabian Sea

22. *Dental woe that Horton might hear about?

24. *Fairy tale creature in no rush for victims to cross his bridge?

26. Lazy server

27. Mannheim mister

28. Scottish squirt

30. Still clueless

34. City across the Missouri from Council Bluffs

38. In the raw

39. Port vessel

41. Nelson Muntz catchphrases

42. It orbits la Tierra

43. Oscar winner for “Tootsie” and “Blue Sky”

44. *Film with a cast of unknowns?

46. *Strapless top to wear with a grass skirt?

48. Inventor Whitney

49. Permeate

50. Barge with a scoop

52. Take steps

53. Diamond of note

54. Pique

55. Lose face

59. Woolly youngsters

61. Breakfast option

64. George of “Route 66”

66. And higher, in pricing

67. *Two-faced Mensa members?

70. “I came,” to Julius Caesar

71. Capital of Cyprus

73. Pumpkinseed

74. "Shrinking" star Jason

75. Brand with Buffalo Wing and Smoked Gouda varieties

77. Gym unit

78. Tropical hardwood

81. Draft pick?

82. Echo

84. Drag booster

85. Palindromic diarist

86. *Money-laundering outfit in the hood?

90. *Even lamer joke on a humor blog?

92. Does as directed

93. "Peter Pan" dog

95. Hang around for

96. Supporter’s suffix

97. Just a memory now

99. Commits a gridiron foul

101. Suppresses

103. Filled with tension

105. Former U.S. Army base near Monterey

109. *Flea market kiosk with more pizzazz than the others?

113. Spelling rule you must apply to make sense of the starred answers

116. Went like lightning

117. Revolt

118. Narthex neighbor

119. Preserve in a way

120. Hillside glider

121. Lack permission to

122. Scholarship criterion

123. Newspaper features

All Answers

Down

1. Chops

2. Site of Waialua, Waikele and Waipahu

3. Cupid counterpart

4. Pipe cleaner brand?

5. Make known

6. Pirouette pivot

7. UFO crew

8. Bad-mouth

9. Prepare for a bout

10. Recon unit

11. Diamonds, slangily

12. Stimpy's cartoon pal

13. Office no.

14. Skin opening

15. Miniature shape-shifters

16. Chivalrous

17. Blow up

23. Division of a long poem

25. Former carrier

27. Chuck

29. Glade grazer

31. “What did I do to deserve this?”

32. Poets’ feet

33. Woulda, coulda follower

35. Calliope, e.g.

36. Battery end

37. Was a player

39. Like obsidian and basalt

40. Somewhat excessive

43. Help around Wednesday

44. Kevin of “SNL” and “Weeds”

45. Rackets

47. Test versions

50. Formed a stalactite, say

51. Forward, as a parcel

54. Many a summer worker

56. Party with an EDM soundtrack

57. Herbs with Italian and Greek varieties

58. Sommelier’s offering

60. Lodge letters

62. Dada’s Jean

63. All the rage

65. Like some partners

67. Jewelry store device

68. Parisian houses

69. Untouched

72. Feudal workers

74. Chocolate-and-toffee candy bar

76. Melodious

79. Bert’s bud

80. Risks arrest by helping

83. Digital digest founder Eric

84. Specifically

86. Bikers’ bikes

87. They’re often behind the violists in an orchestra

88. Cool-tasting oil

89. Monstrosity

90. Family in a Verona feud

91. Kind of horse or bean

94. Secure

98. Ending for Max or Joseph

100. Did in

102. Had to repay

104. In addition

106. Finned predator

107. Crack a book

108. Creature digs

110. Pina colada ingredient

111. Vacation spot

112. Put in the effort

113. Vacation spot

114. Dearest

115. Second person

All Answers