The American English slash ( / ) is also called a stroke (British), slant and virgule. It is often incorrectly called a backslash, especially when a Web address is spoken: "wmich dot edu slash news," not "backslash."

A slash is used in text to separate alternatives (good/evil) and to separate lines of poetry (Roses are red / Violets are blue / It's not a backslash / Who knew?) When used for poetry, there is a space before and after the slash.

Other common uses include 24/7, meaning all day, every day.

To illustrate joint entity or ownership, a hyphen is always preferable to a slash.

• student-faculty initiative
• faculty-staff newsletter
• junior-senior dance
• Taft-Hartley Act