turnkey

noun

No English definition recorded for this entry.

Pronunciation: /ˈtɜː(ɹ)nˌkiː/

Etymology: From turn + key.

Ready to use without further assembly or test; supplied in a state that is ready to turn on and operate (typically refers to an assembly that is outsourced for manufacture).
“They wanted a turnkey solution for the entire system, but we could only provide the enclosure.”
“Third World countries no longer want to purchase nuclear projects on a turn-key basis; they want to receive advanced technical training as well.”

Etymology: From turn + key.

A system that is supplied ready to switch on and operate.
“The hardware-software costs are packaged together. Turnkeys are either special purpose (e.g., only for one function such as libraries) or general purpose […]”
A warder or jailer; a keeper of the keys in a prison.
“He saw the same Turnkey unfetter a man / With but little expedition, / Which put him in mind of the long debate / On the Slave-trade abolition.”
“[…]they passed through an open door into a lobby, from which a heavy gate, opposite to that by which they had entered, and which was guarded by a stout turnkey with the key in his hand, led at once into the interior of the prison.”

Etymology: From turn + key.

To supply a turnkey product; to supply something fully assembled and ready to use.
“We can sell you all the parts, or we can turnkey the entire unit.”