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7.52 The Oblique, General

The oblique is also known as a solidus, slant (line), bar, virgule, diagonal, stroke or slash.

Do not use the oblique instead of a hyphen at the end of a line of ordinary prose to indicate word division.

7.53 Abbreviations

The oblique is used in certain abbreviations:

  • a/c
    • account
  • A/Director
    • Acting Director
  • c/o
    • care of
  • i/c
    • in charge
  • n/a
    • not applicable
  • w/o
    • without

It can be used as a symbol for per:

  • km/h
  • N/m2

Do not use the oblique to represent per more than once in a single expression:

  • 2.7 m·s-2 not 2.7 m/s/s

Do not use it with expressions of quantity written out in full:

  • metres per second not metres/second