Strikethrough

Strikethrough (also called strikeout) is a typographical presentation of words with a horizontal line through the center of them. Here is an example.

It signifies one of two meanings. In ink-written, typewritten, or other non-erasable text, the words are a mistake and not meant for inclusion. When used on a computer screen, however, it indicates recently-deleted information. (The difference is that in the latter situation, the struck-through text previously was a legitimate part of the document.) It can also be used for humorous purposes, such as something that normally shouldn't be shown is shown anyway, but with the striketrough put on, rather than the text being deleted. For example: Jimbo Wales is a loser genius.

Computer Methods

The HTML special inline element for strikethrough is <strike> or <s>. The BB Code for it is also [s].

The Unicode combining diacritic "long stroke overlay" (U+0336) results in an unbroken stroke across the text,

A̶B̶C̶D̶E̶F̶G̶H̶I̶

while "short stroke overlay" (U+0335) results in individually struck out characters,

A̵B̵C̵D̵E̵F̵G̵H̵I̵

Similarly, "short solidus overlay" (U+0337) results in diagonally struck out letters,

A̷B̷C̷D̷E̷F̷G̷H̷I̷  

Precombined "struck through" characters in Unicode include ƀ, Đđ, Ǥǥ, Ħħ, Ɨɨ, Ɉɉ, Łł, Ɵɵ, Ŧ, ʉ, Ƶƶ, ƻ, ʡ, ʢ, Ғғ, Ҟҟ, Ұұ, Ҍҍ, ⊄, ⊅, ∉.

Previous uses

In medieval manuscripts, "strikethrough" of text with red ink often functions as highlighting (e.g. Domesday Book , c.f. this image)

See also

• Bar (diacritic)