key fob

American

[kee fob] / ˈki ˌfɒb /

noun

a programmed, battery-powered device enabling keyless access or entry, especially to a vehicle, usually carried on a key ring or keychain.

The windows and sunroof of your car can also be opened and closed using the key fob.
1. an ornament or other object attached to a key ring or keychain.
  
  This key fob of tooled leather can hold a small photo.
2. a key ring or keychain with such an ornament on it.
  
  Has anyone turned in a key fob with a little foam golf ball and three keys on it?

Etymology

Origin of key fob

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It pops out when it needs to be used, either automatically through the user’s key fob or phone, or manually by pressing the handle.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Yes, definitely. I talked to him about it. But you need to talk to him too,” Ray says, pushing the button on his key fob that makes the truck lock chirp.

From Literature

The doors typically don’t unlock when I approach the car until I pull out the key fob and hit the unlock button.

From The Wall Street Journal

The shock came days later when he took the car to a local Kia dealership to ask about a faulty button on the key fob designed to access the boot.

From BBC

In the Anaheim Hills incidents, one of the vehicles was stolen by thieves accessing the key fob signal through an antenna.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023