candidate key

== English == === Noun === candidate key (plural candidate keys) (computing, databases) In the design of a database table, a column (or an irreducible group of them) able to identify every row of the table, having a unique value or set of values in each row. One of the candidate keys (abbreviated CKs) will be the primary key. ==== Related terms ==== business key foreign key natural key primary key ==== See also ==== first normal form