backslash

/ˈbækˌslæʃ/

backslash noun: the punctuation mark \ (a left-leaning diagonal line). (Common uses include (1) use as a delimiter in filepaths and (2) use as an escape character to mark literals.).

Noun

backslash (plural backslashes)

The punctuation mark \ (a left-leaning diagonal line). (Common uses include (1) use as a delimiter in filepaths and (2) use as an escape character to mark literals.)

Synonyms:

backward slash, reverse solidus, slosh, whack
(proscribed, rare) The punctuation mark /; a slash, forward slash.
- […] I was trying to find a web-site for which I had been given the following address: http://www.isop.ucla.edu/pacrim/pubs/korjournal.htm. […] I began to work backwards, removing first the last part of the address following the last backslash (/korjournal.htm).2001, James T. Bretzke, Bibliography on East Asian Religion and Philosophy, Edwin Mellen Press, →ISBN, page 455
- “So, do what I tell you. Open a browser window and type this in the menu^([sic]) bar: F-T-P colon backslash backslash euronews dot net backslash...”
  I pecked carefully at the keyboard as he dictated a URL that was about fifty characters long, […]2010, Lee Vance, The Garden of Betrayal, Random House, published 2011, →ISBN, page 25

Verb

backslash (third-person singular simple present backslashes, present participle backslashing, simple past and past participle backslashed)

(transitive) To escape (a metacharacter) by prepending a backslash that serves as an escape character, thereby forming an escape sequence.

backslash meaning in Kannada, Arabic and Thai

backslash in Arabic

punctuation mark: مَائِلَة مُعَاكِسَة māʔila muʕākisa

Synonyms of backslash

Forms of backslash

Noun
plural	backslashes
alternative form	back slash
Verb
third-person singular present	backslashes
present participle	backslashing
past participle	backslashed
past	backslashed

Origin of backslash

From back + slash, because it is a slash “leaning back” against the direction of writing (in writing lines from left to right), in contrast to the more common (forward) slash / (“solidus, oblique, diagonal”). The actual direction of (hand-)writing these marks can be reversed, when writing from left to right, top to baseline: the backslash forwards, the (forward) slash backwards. The naming can be explained as an anthropomorphism, assuming a bar (|) standing on the baseline, facing in the direction of writing, toppling backwards or forwards, respectively. The (new) Unicode name of \ is REVERSE SOLIDUS.

Words that rhyme with backslash

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about backslash

What does backslash mean?: Backslash means the punctuation mark \ (a left-leaning diagonal line). (Common uses include (1) use as a delimiter in filepaths and (2) use as an escape character to mark literals.).
What is backslash in Kannada?: Backslash in Kannada is ಹಿಮ್ಮುಖ ಓರೆಗೆರೆ, ಬ್ಯಾಕ್‌ಸ್ಲ್ಯಾಷ್. See Backslash meaning in Kannada.
What part of speech is backslash?: Backslash can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce backslash?: Backslash is pronounced /ˈbækˌslæʃ/.
What is the plural of backslash?: The plural of backslash is backslashes.

Words near backslash in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: backslash (page history and authors); backslash (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-backslash.wav.

Cite this entry: “backslash.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/backslash. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.