SINCE 1828
escape key
noun
variants:
or less commonly Escape key
Definition of escape key
computers
: a key on a computer keyboard that when pressed transmits various commands to the computer (such as to stop an active process or close a window)
Note: The escape key orginally transmitted a special type of character (the escape character) that marked subsequent data as being different in some way. For example, it might separate a command being sent to a printer from the actual data to be printed. More recent changes in technology have made this character less necessary, and the escape key has been adapted for other uses.
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