Latchkey

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A latchkey is English vernacular for a doorkey, usually the key that opens the back door. Leaving a door 'on the latch' means to leave it unlocked. The latch itself refers to the old mechanism for securing a door, where a small metal or wooden bar dropped into a slot on the doorframe. In many houses a small hole gave access to the latch bar from the outside; many older properties in the UK still have internal doors and outbuildings that use this technique.

A latchkey kid is English vernacular for a child whose parent or parents are out at work when he/she returns home from school.

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