Definition of "backslash"

backslash

/ˈbækˌslæʃ/

noun
plural backslashes
1. The punctuation mark \.
2. (computing, rare, proscribed) Used erroneously in reference to, or in reading out, the ordinary slash, that is, the punctuation mark /.
  Quotations
  […] 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, 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, page 25
  Also, avoid submenus[sic] that can confuse the audience—if you're giving lengthy Web site addresses full of backslashes, shorten it so only the Web site's home page is given.
  2010, Frank Barnas, Ted White, Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, Fifth Edition, Elsevier, page 114
verb
third-person singular simple present backslashes, present participle backslashing, simple past and past participle backslashed
1. (computing, transitive) To escape (a metacharacter) by prepending a backslash that serves as an escape character, thereby forming an escape sequence.

Definition of "backslash"

backslash

noun

Quotations

verb