back button

noun

computers
: an icon on a computer screen that typically depicts a backward pointing arrow and that returns the user to a previously shown window or web page

called also back arrow

Examples of back button in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Each page also has forward and back buttons. — Kathy Yakal, PC Magazine, 8 Apr. 2026 All too often, clicking the back button in your browser doesn’t actually take you back. — ArsTechnica, 14 Apr. 2026 The remote has a screen, a main button that is also a selection wheel, a back button, and a button to control the eye pads. — Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 23 Jan. 2026 Those back buttons offer gamers a key edge in competitive shooters because players never have to take their thumbs off the sticks to reload or jump. — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 19 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for back button

Word History

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of back button was in 1981

Rhymes for back button

See All Rhymes for back button

Browse Nearby Words

back burner
back button
back-calving
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Back button.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back%20button. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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