keyboards

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of keyboard.

   The office replaced all of its worn-out keyboards last month.

   Mechanical keyboards have grown popular among gamers and programmers alike.

   Note

   One plural serves three different things: the typing keys of a computer or typewriter, the black-and-white keys built into a piano, organ or harpsichord, and the electronic instruments named after them. The form itself does not tell them apart, so the surrounding words carry the meaning. Keyboards in an office are for typing, and keyboards in a music shop are usually for playing.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of keyboard.

   The clerk keyboards each invoice number before filing the paperwork.

   The assistant keyboards the minutes as soon as each meeting ends.

   Note

   The verb behind this form is a plain one: to type at a computer keyboard. Its core use takes no object, as in she keyboards all day. The spelling is shared with the plural noun, and position tells them apart. The verb follows a subject (he keyboards), while the noun follows an article or other determiner (the keyboards, two keyboards).

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