What is "escape character"

n. (context computing telecommunications English) A single metacharacter, usually a control code, which in a sequence of characters signifies that what is to follow takes an alternative interpretation. The term ''escape sequence'' refers to the escape character and the subsequent character or characters so modified.

In computing and telecommunication, an escape character is a character which invokes an alternative interpretation on subsequent characters in a character sequence. An escape character is a particular case of metacharacters. Generally, the judgement of whether something is an escape character or not depends on context.