What ⎋ means
It labels Escape: press the key to cancel or leave a mode.
Unicode lists ⎋ among keyboard symbols from ISO/IEC 9995-7, with the meaning Escape. The printed sign labels a key; the ESCAPE control character U001B is the separate input used in terminal control sequences. Typing ⎋ inserts this label as text.
The ESC function entered ASCII development around 1960; ASCII is an early standard for computer text and control codes. It let terminals change how they read what followed or begin a control sequence. The Teletype Model 33, a keyboard-and-printing computer terminal, had an Escape key when introduced in 1963; IBM put Esc at the upper-left of its PC keyboard in 1981. Those dates trace the control function and key, not the origin of this drawn label. In software, Escape cancels dialogs, may open a game’s pause menu, and leaves vi’s text-entry mode; each program chooses its action.
Technical, instructional, and tied to the Escape key.
Typing ⎋ inserts a character; it does not press Escape.
Part of the collection
What it means when someone sends it to you
3 readingsPress Escape; the key sends U001B, which can start the sequence described next.
Don't confuse it with
2
Related characters
1
Combination ideas
4Questions people ask
1Why does ⎋ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
More like this
12
Collections with ⎋
3
How to type or find ⎋
- Also called
- escape symbol · escape-key symbol · esc symbol
- Search it as
- esc · escape · esc key · escape key · cancel key · force quit
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
⎋\238BCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.