backspace
/ˈbækˌspeɪs/noun, verb
backspace is spelled B-A-C-K-S-P-A-C-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, backspace means “The key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of backspace is backspaces.
How many letters and syllables are in backspace?
| Letters | 9: B-A-C-K-S-P-A-C-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 76,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is backspace?
Backspace appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce backspace?
- /ˈbækˌspeɪs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-backspace.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of backspace
- backspaces plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- backspacing participle, present
- backspaced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does backspace mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The key on a typewriter that moves the head one position backwards.
- 2
A keyboard key used for removing a character behind the cursor, and moving the cursor one position backwards.
- 3
A non-printable text character representing a backspace.
verb
- 1
To remove a character behind a cursor.
- 2
To move a magnetic tape to a previous block.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate backspace?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of backspace: Bksp.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Backspace in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | retour arrière |
| German | Backspace, Rücktaste, Rücksetztaste |
| Spanish | retroceso , (tecla de) borrar |
| Portuguese | backspace, retrocesso, (tecla de) retroceder, (tecla de) recuo, (tecla de) apagar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does backspace come from?
From back + space.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).