hash mark

[ hash mahrk ]

noun

1. a military service stripe worn on the sleeve of an enlisted person.
2. the symbol (#); pound sign.
3. Football. the marking formed by either inbounds line intersecting with one of the lines delineating yardage between the goal lines.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hash mark¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

In Einstein’s theory, massive objects like Earth stretch the space-time “metric” — essentially the distance between hash marks on a ruler, and the duration between ticks of clocks.

From Quanta Magazine

One more hash mark on his arm would have made him look like a convict.

From Project Gutenberg

The pound sign, an "L" with a hash mark derived from the word Libra, which meant weighing scales.

From Project Gutenberg