throw away the key

verb

To never release someone (e.g., from prison).

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Meanings

verbthrow away the key (third-person singular simple present throws away the key, present participle throwing away the key, simple past threw away the key, past participle thrown away the key)

present singular third person throws away the key · participle present throwing away the key · past threw away the key · participle past thrown away the key

  1. idiomaticslangTo never release someone (e.g., from prison).

    Let's get these men together in a room and I would suggest feed them bread and water and throw away the key until they come together

    1995 November 19, “Senators Pete Domenici and John Breaux Discuss the Shutdown of the Federal Government”, in CBS Face Nation

Origin

An ellipsis of lock someone up and throw away the key.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

throw away the key. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20away%20the%20key

MLA

“throw away the key.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20away%20the%20key. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throw away the key,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20away%20the%20key.

Source: throw away the key on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.