Grave Accent `

The Grave Accent character (`) is a standard HTML entity defined in the HTML specification. In HTML source code, it can be written using the named entity reference `, the decimal numeric character reference `, or the hexadecimal numeric reference `. The character is assigned Unicode code point U+0060 in the Universal Character Set.

The grave accent (backtick) has become one of the most important characters in modern programming. It delimits template literals in JavaScript, inline code in markdown, and command substitution in shell scripts. The standalone grave accent is a spacing character distinct from the combining grave used in French and Italian accented letters.

Technical character entities represent brackets, delimiters, and punctuation marks that frequently require escaping in HTML source code and programming contexts. Characters like curly braces, square brackets, pipes, and backslashes often carry special meaning in templating engines, regular expressions, or markup parsers, making their explicit HTML entity encoding important for preventing unintended interpretation by the browser or build tools.

When deciding how to encode the Grave Accent character in your HTML documents, the named entity ` is generally the most readable choice for developers reviewing or maintaining source code. The decimal form ` and hexadecimal form ` are equally valid alternatives that work in contexts where named entities may not be supported, or when generating HTML output programmatically from server-side code. All three representations produce identical visual output in every modern web browser.

Use the grave accent entity in HTML content that discusses markdown syntax, JavaScript template literals, or shell command substitution, where a literal backtick needs to be shown without being interpreted. It is especially important in code documentation content.