backslash

noun

1. The punctuation mark \ (a left-leaning diagonal line).
2. (proscribed, rare)The punctuation mark /; a slash, forward slash.

   “[…] 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).”

   ““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, […]”

   “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.”

verb

1. (transitive)To escape (a metacharacter) by prepending a backslash that serves as an escape character, thereby forming an escape sequence.