noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards.
2. 2
   the typewriter key used for back spacing wordnet
3. 3
   A keyboard key used for removing a character behind the cursor, and moving the cursor one position backwards.
4. 4
   A non-printable text character representing a backspace.

Verb

1. 1
   To remove a character behind a cursor.

   "So once you hit 'E', just backspace."

2. 2
   hit the backspace key on a computer or typewriter keyboard wordnet
3. 3
   To move a magnetic tape to a previous block.

Synonyms

All synonyms

backspace keybackspace keybackspacermul:\brubout

Antonyms

All antonyms

return

Example

More examples

"So once you hit 'E', just backspace."

Etymology

From back + space.

Related phrases

destructive backspace

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.