Dictionary

rubout en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɹʌbaʊt/
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Deverbal from rub out.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) An instance of erasing with a rubber.
2. (broadly, countable, slang) An assassination.
   • This high-concept take on low life includes a concealed lethal weapon (by Claire Fontaine); photographic evidence of a rubout (by Torbjorn Rodland); and cryptic, possibly sinister messages galore from Tauba Auerbach, Daniel Knorr, David Lieske and Matias Faldbakken. 2007 June 8, Holland Cotter, “Quirks and Attitude to Burn”, in New York Times:
3. (broadly, dated, uncountable) Synonym of backspace.
   • The TS-1000 had ENTER instead of NEW LINE and DELETE instead of RUBOUT. 2002, Brotha G, “ZX81 Prototype Keyboard”, in comp.sys.sinclair (Usenet):
   • A direct manipulation editor would support, for example, a single rubout key that uses the cursor to find the appropriate character for deletion […] 1990, Michael D. Harrison, Harold Thimbleby, Formal methods in human-computer interaction, page 130:

Forms

Synonyms

backspace