English

Noun

rubout ‎(plural rubouts)

1. (slang) An assassination.
   • 2007 June 8, Holland Cotter, “Quirks and Attitude to Burn”, in New York Times:

     This high-concept take on low life includes a concealed lethal weapon (by Claire Fontaine); photographic evidence of a rubout (by Torbjorn Rodland); and cryptic, possibly sinister messages galore from Tauba Auerbach, Daniel Knorr, David Lieske and Matias Faldbakken.

2. (computing, uncountable, dated) backspace
   • 1990, Michael D. Harrison, Harold Thimbleby, Formal methods in human-computer interaction (page 130)

     A direct manipulation editor would support, for example, a single rubout key that uses the cursor to find the appropriate character for deletion...