"backtick" meaning in All languages combined

See backtick on Wiktionary

Noun [English]

IPA: /ˈbæk.tɪk/ Audio: en-uk-backtick.ogg [UK] Forms: backticks [plural]
Rhymes: -æktɪk Etymology: From back + tick. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|back|tick}} back + tick Head templates: {{en-noun}} backtick (plural backticks)
  1. (computing, typography) The symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark and also being, or being homoglyphic to (depending on mental model), a grave accent mark in isolation. (Common uses include (1) use as a dead key in composing grave-accented characters, (2) use as an escape character to mark literals, and (3) many other uses as defined by contexts.) Wikipedia link: backtick Synonyms: backquote Derived forms: backticked Related terms: backslash, backstroke Translations (the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark): zpětný apostrof (Czech), obrácený apostrof [masculine] (Czech), malapostrofo (Esperanto), Backtick [masculine] (German), fordított félidézőjel (Hungarian)

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "back",
        "3": "tick"
      },
      "expansion": "back + tick",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From back + tick.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "backticks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "backtick (plural backticks)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Esperanto translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Computing",
          "orig": "en:Computing",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Punctuation marks",
          "orig": "en:Punctuation marks",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Typography",
          "orig": "en:Typography",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "backticked"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2000, Lincoln D Stein, Network Programming with Perl:",
          "text": "The backtick acts like the double-quote operator.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark and also being, or being homoglyphic to (depending on mental model), a grave accent mark in isolation. (Common uses include (1) use as a dead key in composing grave-accented characters, (2) use as an escape character to mark literals, and (3) many other uses as defined by contexts.)"
      ],
      "id": "en-backtick-en-noun-SJyRu-eG",
      "links": [
        [
          "computing",
          "computing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "typography",
          "typography"
        ],
        [
          "`",
          "`"
        ],
        [
          "quotation mark",
          "quotation mark"
        ],
        [
          "homoglyph",
          "homoglyph"
        ],
        [
          "mental model",
          "mental model"
        ],
        [
          "grave accent",
          "grave accent"
        ],
        [
          "dead key",
          "dead key#English"
        ],
        [
          "escape character",
          "escape character#English"
        ],
        [
          "literal",
          "literal#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(computing, typography) The symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark and also being, or being homoglyphic to (depending on mental model), a grave accent mark in isolation. (Common uses include (1) use as a dead key in composing grave-accented characters, (2) use as an escape character to mark literals, and (3) many other uses as defined by contexts.)"
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "backslash"
        },
        {
          "word": "backstroke"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "backquote"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "computing",
        "engineering",
        "mathematics",
        "media",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "publishing",
        "sciences",
        "typography"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "lang_code": "cs",
          "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
          "word": "zpětný apostrof"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "lang_code": "cs",
          "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "obrácený apostrof"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "lang_code": "eo",
          "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
          "word": "malapostrofo"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Backtick"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "lang_code": "hu",
          "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
          "word": "fordított félidézőjel"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "backtick"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbæk.tɪk/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-backtick.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-uk-backtick.ogg/En-uk-backtick.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-uk-backtick.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-æktɪk"
    }
  ],
  "word": "backtick"
}
{
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "backticked"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "back",
        "3": "tick"
      },
      "expansion": "back + tick",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From back + tick.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "backticks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "backtick (plural backticks)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "backslash"
    },
    {
      "word": "backstroke"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English compound terms",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Rhymes:English/æktɪk",
        "Rhymes:English/æktɪk/2 syllables",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Esperanto translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "en:Computing",
        "en:Punctuation marks",
        "en:Typography"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2000, Lincoln D Stein, Network Programming with Perl:",
          "text": "The backtick acts like the double-quote operator.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark and also being, or being homoglyphic to (depending on mental model), a grave accent mark in isolation. (Common uses include (1) use as a dead key in composing grave-accented characters, (2) use as an escape character to mark literals, and (3) many other uses as defined by contexts.)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "computing",
          "computing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "typography",
          "typography"
        ],
        [
          "`",
          "`"
        ],
        [
          "quotation mark",
          "quotation mark"
        ],
        [
          "homoglyph",
          "homoglyph"
        ],
        [
          "mental model",
          "mental model"
        ],
        [
          "grave accent",
          "grave accent"
        ],
        [
          "dead key",
          "dead key#English"
        ],
        [
          "escape character",
          "escape character#English"
        ],
        [
          "literal",
          "literal#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(computing, typography) The symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark and also being, or being homoglyphic to (depending on mental model), a grave accent mark in isolation. (Common uses include (1) use as a dead key in composing grave-accented characters, (2) use as an escape character to mark literals, and (3) many other uses as defined by contexts.)"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "backquote"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "computing",
        "engineering",
        "mathematics",
        "media",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "publishing",
        "sciences",
        "typography"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "backtick"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbæk.tɪk/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-backtick.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-uk-backtick.ogg/En-uk-backtick.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-uk-backtick.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-æktɪk"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
      "word": "zpětný apostrof"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "obrácený apostrof"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
      "word": "malapostrofo"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Backtick"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "lang_code": "hu",
      "sense": "the symbol `, resembling a reversed quotation mark",
      "word": "fordított félidézőjel"
    }
  ],
  "word": "backtick"
}

Download raw JSONL data for backtick meaning in All languages combined (3.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-07-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-07-06 using wiktextract (e62056b and e7887d5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.