Word.ws English Dictionary

backspace

/ˈbækˌspeɪs/

backspace noun: the key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards.

backspace: the key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards
Image: ElbridgeGerry, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

backspace (plural backspaces)

  1. The key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards.
  2. A keyboard key used for removing a character behind the cursor, and moving the cursor one position backwards.
  3. A non-printable text character representing a backspace.

Verb

backspace (third-person singular simple present backspaces, present participle backspacing, simple past and past participle backspaced)

  1. To remove a character behind a cursor.
    • So once you hit 'E', just backspace.2024 April 17, SMii7Y, 1:20 from the start, in Content Warning Footage That Should Never Be Uploaded, spoken by SMii7Y
  2. To move a magnetic tape to a previous block.

backspace meaning in Tamil, Marathi, Bengali and Vietnamese

backspace in Tamil

பின்வெளி, பின் நகர்வு, பின்னழிக்க

backspace in Marathi

typewriter key
बॅकस्पेस bĕkaspes
computer key
बॅकस्पेस bĕkaspes

backspace in Bengali

computer key
ব্যাকস্পেস bêkośpes

backspace in Vietnamese

typewriter key
phím lùi
computer key
phím xóa lùi, phím lùi

Forms of backspace

Noun
pluralbackspaces
Verb
third-person singular presentbackspaces
present participlebackspacing
past participlebackspaced
pastbackspaced

Origin of backspace

From back + space.

Words formed from backspace

Questions about backspace

What does backspace mean?
Backspace means the key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards.
What is backspace in Tamil?
Backspace in Tamil is பின்வெளி, பின் நகர்வு, பின்னழிக்க. See Backspace meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is backspace?
Backspace can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce backspace?
Backspace is pronounced /ˈbækˌspeɪs/.
What is the plural of backspace?
The plural of backspace is backspaces.

Words near backspace in the dictionary

  1. backsounds
  2. backsource
  3. backsourced
  4. backsources
  5. backsourcing
  6. backspace
  7. backspaceable
  8. backspaced
  9. backspacer
  10. backspacers
  11. backspaces

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: backspace (page history and authors); backspace (Tamil 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:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-backspace.wav.

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