backspace

[ bak-speys ]

verb (used without object),back·spaced, back·spac·ing.
  1. to shift the carriage or typing element of a typewriter one space backward by depressing a special key.

  2. Computers. to move the cursor, printhead, etc., toward the beginning of the data.

noun
  1. the space made by backspacing.

  2. Also called backspacer, backspace key . the labeled key on a typewriter or computer keyboard used for backspacing.

Origin of backspace

1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for backspace

backspace

/ (ˈbækˌspeɪs) /


verb
  1. to move a (typewriter carriage) backwards

noun
  1. 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