/
/ Forward Slash
The forward slash (/), properly the solidus, is the key that leans forward. It marks division, separates URL paths, and is easy to confuse with the backslash \.
Also known as: forward slash, slash symbol, solidus, division slash.
Codes
| Symbol | / | |
| Unicode | U+002F | |
| HTML entity (named) | / | |
| HTML entity (decimal) | / | |
| HTML entity (hex) | / | |
| CSS | \002F | |
| LaTeX | / | |
| Windows Alt code | Alt + 47 |
How to type / (Forward Slash)
Windows/
Press the / key (shared with ? on a US keyboard, to the left of the right Shift).
Mac/
Press the / key (shared with ?).
Microsoft Word/
Press the / key. Note that typing 1/2 may autocorrect to the fraction ½ — undo with Ctrl + Z if you wanted the slash.
Google Docs/
Press the / key.
LaTeX/
Type / directly. In math mode, a/b sets an inline division; use \frac{a}{b} for a stacked fraction.
Usage
- Forward slash vs backslash: / (U+002F) leans forward and is used in URLs (https://example.com/page), Unix paths (/usr/local) and division (10 / 2). \ (U+005C, reverse solidus) leans back and is used in Windows paths (C:\Users) and as the escape character in code.
- Which slash for a fraction? For plain text, / is correct. Typographically, ⁄ (U+2044, fraction slash) is designed to build fractions like 1⁄2, and ∕ (U+2215, division slash) is the math one. All three look similar and none are interchangeable in code.
- In HTML, a slash after < closes a tag (</div>), which is why a bare / inside markup can need escaping as / in some contexts.
- Read aloud, the forward slash is often the “or” in and/or, and the separator in dates (7/14/2026) — a format that means July 14 in the US and does not elsewhere.