Escape key symbol

An arrow leaving a circle, marking the escape key.

Also known as: Esc key, Cancel key, Arrow out of circle

Everyday & digitalEngineering & technicalStandard profile

Meanings

The escape symbol marks the key that cancels or backs out. The key began as a way of telling a terminal that the characters following it were commands rather than text.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Marks the escape key, which cancels the current action, closes a dialog, or backs out of a mode.
Contexts: Software
Historically documentedDocumented interpretation
Originates in terminal control, where an escape character told the receiving device that what followed was a command rather than text to print — the sense preserved in the term 'escape sequence'.
Teleprinter and terminal era onward · Contexts: Software

Visual description

A small arrow pointing up and to the left, leaving an open circle behind it.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard.

Sources

Esc key
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Technical (U+2300–U+23FF)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-31
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31

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Meanings

The escape symbol marks the key that cancels or backs out. The key began as a way of telling a terminal that the characters following it were commands rather than text.

Common modern usageVerified fact

Marks the escape key, which cancels the current action, closes a dialog, or backs out of a mode.

Contexts: Software

Historically documentedDocumented interpretation

Originates in terminal control, where an escape character told the receiving device that what followed was a command rather than text to print — the sense preserved in the term 'escape sequence'.

Teleprinter and terminal era onward · Contexts: Software

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard.

Sources

Esc key
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Technical (U+2300–U+23FF)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-31
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31