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definitions

backslash

[ bak-slash ]
/ ˈbækˌslæʃ /

noun

a short oblique stroke (\), a backward slash, used in some computer operating systems to mark the division between a directory and a subdirectory or its folders, as in designating a path.

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How To Use The SlashThe slash (/)—sometimes called a slant, a solidus, a stroke, or a virgule—is a commonly employed symbol in the English language. Whatever you want to call this piece of punctuation, its role in English has greatly changed over time. The word slash first entered English in the late 14th century as a verb to describe the cutting movement of a weapon, a word derived from …
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Nearby words

  1. backside-front,
  2. backside-to,
  3. backsight,
  4. backslap,
  5. backslapping,
  6. backslide,
  7. backsliding,
  8. backsource,
  9. backspace,
  10. backspin

Origin of backslash

First recorded in 1975–80; back1 + slash1
Can be confusedbackslash forward slash virgule
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for backslash

backslash

noun

a slash which slopes to the left \
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for backslash

backslash

n.

1982, new punctuation symbol introduced for computer purposes, from back (adj.) + slash (n.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper