There are two types of slashes: a backslash (\) and a forward slash (/). The backslash is used only for computer coding. The forward slash, often simply referred to as a slash, is a punctuation mark used in English.

It is also known as a stroke, a solidus, a forward slash and several other historical or technical names. Once used to mark periods and commas, the slash is now used to represent division and fractions, exclusive 'or' and inclusive 'or', and as a date separator. / Slash or solidus.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a slash is "the symbol / used in writing to separate letters, numbers, or words." Meanwhile, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as "a mark / used typically to denote 'or' (as in and/or), 'and or' (as in straggler/deserter), or 'per' (as in feet/second)." The Collins ...

It is the mirror image of the common slash /. It is a relatively recent mark, first documented in the 1930s. It is sometimes called a hack, whack, escape (from C/UNIX), reverse slash, slosh, downwhack, backslant, backwhack, bash, reverse slant, reverse solidus, and reversed virgule.