backslash

American  

[bak-slash] / ˈbækˌslæʃ /

noun

• backslashes
  plural

1. 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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backslash British  

noun

1. a slash which slopes to the left \

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• backslashes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of backslash

First recorded in 1975–80; back ¹ + slash ¹

Compare meaning

How does backslash compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• backslash vs. forward slash

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

backslash backslashes

But Jones said he was skeptical that the town hall would help CNN’s reputation in the long term, given the backslash.

From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2023

Cambridge inhabits a mere seven square miles outside Boston, angling like a backslash into the Charles River.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2020

The institute signed an agreement with the government of French Polynesia to build a lagoon in Tahiti in 2017, but the French Polynesian government has since declared that project void after public backslash.

From Slate ● May 1, 2019

As in MS-DOS, you do not need the first backslash if the subdirectory comes off the directory you're already in.

From Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet by Electronic Frontier Foundation

If the listing doesn't fit on the screen, try ls | less, where | is the ``pipe'' character, generally found on the same key with backslash.

From Debian GNU/Linux : Guide to Installation and Usage by John Goerzen

With a practiced flurry, he inserted backslashes and hit “return” repeatedly, which drew the symbols into a neat block.

From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2017

Eight parents wanted to insert backslashes into their children’s first names, while four wanted to put brackets around their middle names.

From Time ● May 3, 2013

The draft shows Franklin's heavy printer's pen crossing out the phrase with backslashes and changing it to "We hold these truths to be self-evident."

From Time Magazine Archive