backspace

[ bak-speys ]
/ ˈbækˌspeɪs /

verb (used without object), back·spaced, back·spac·ing.

to shift the carriage or typing element of a typewriter one space backward by depressing a special key.
Computers. to move the cursor, printhead, etc., toward the beginning of the data.

noun

the space made by backspacing.
Also called back·spac·er, backspace key. the labeled key on a typewriter or computer keyboard used for backspacing.

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Origin of backspace

back2 + space

Words nearby backspace

backslap, backslapping, backslash, backslide, backsource, backspace, backspin, backsplash, backsplice, backstab, backstage
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for backspace

backspace
/ (ˈbækˌspeɪs) /

verb

to move a (typewriter carriage) backwards

noun

a typewriter key that effects such a movement
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