Definition

Noun: 1. A control character or operation that moves the cursor or print head to the beginning of a new line: In computing and text processing, a carriage return is an instruction that prepares the system for the next character to be placed at the start of the following line. It originates from the action of a typewriter's carriage returning to its starting position.

Usage

• The carriage return is a fundamental concept in digital text formatting.
• Historically, in some systems, a carriage return (often represented as or CR) was distinct from a line feed (LF, ), which moves down to the next line. Together (CR+LF), they form a newline sequence.
• In modern contexts, the term is often used to refer to the action of starting a new line, especially when discussing plain text files or programming.

Examples

• "In the early days of computing, you often had to send both a carriage return and a line feed character to create a proper new line."
• "The text file saved from the old Mac system uses only a carriage return to denote the end of a line."
• "When editing code, ensure your carriage returns are consistent to avoid formatting issues across different operating systems."

Advanced Usage

• Carriage Return Character: In programming and character encoding (like ASCII or Unicode), the carriage return is a specific control character (ASCII code 13, often denoted as in many programming languages).
  • Example: "The function replaces all \r\n (carriage return + line feed) sequences with a simple \n."

Variants and Related Words

• CR: A common abbreviation for "carriage return."
• Newline: A more general modern term for the character or sequence that ends a line of text and starts a new one, which often encompasses the function of a carriage return.
• Line Feed (LF): The control character or operation that advances the cursor or print head to the next line without returning to the beginning. Frequently paired with a carriage return.

Synonyms

• Return (informal, as in "press Return")
• Enter key (in common modern usage, as the key often performs a carriage return/newline function)

Related Phrases

• CRLF: An acronym for Carriage Return + Line Feed, the sequence () commonly used to mark a new line in Windows-based systems and internet protocols.
  • Example: "The network protocol requires each line of the message to be terminated with a CRLF."

Noun

1. the operation that prepares for the next character to be printed or displayed as the first character on a line