W may refer to any of the following:
The Linux w command is used to view a list of users currently logged in to the system. See the w command page for a full explanation, syntax, and examples.
W is an abbreviation used for width. For example, a mouse pad size could be “200 mm W x 240mm H” (200 millimeters wide by 240 millimeters high).
In gaming, when using the WASD keys to control a character or another object, the “W” is the same as the up arrow key.
W is a keyboard key used with the keyboard shortcuts Alt+W, Command+W, and Ctrl+W.
A “w” followed by a forward slash is shorthand for “with.” For example, “burger w/ fries” is the same as “burger with fries.”
With a regular expression, \w matches any one word character ([a-zA-Z_0-9]). When capitalized, \W matches any one non-word character.
With Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet programs, “W” is the twenty-third column of a spreadsheet. To reference the first cell in the column, you’d use “W1.”
In Adobe Photoshop, W is a shortcut to select the wand tool. Holding down the Shift while pressing W cycles through all wand options.
In chat and gaming, “W” is short for “win” (pronounced as dub). The opposite would be “L” for a “loss.”
In the phonetic alphabet, “W” is often pronounced as “whiskey.”
With days of the week, W is an abbreviation for Wednesday.
W is the twenty-third letter of the English alphabet. The letter “W” comes after “V” and is followed by the letter “X.” To create a capitalized “W,” press Shift and W at the same time.
With U.S. QWERTY keyboards, the “W” key is on the top row, to the right of “Q” and left of the “E” key. See our keyboard page for a visual example of all keyboard keys.
Chat terms, Computer abbreviations, Letter
If the “W” key is not working on the keyboard, see: Some keys on my computer keyboard aren’t working.
In ASCII, the uppercase “W” is “087” in decimal (01010111 in binary). The lowercase “w” is “119” in decimal (01110111 in binary).
Doing the Alt code Alt+87 creates a capital “W” and Alt+119 creates a lowercase “w” character.
The number 9 on a phone keypad is used to create an “W” on a US phone.
Related information
- See our W terms for a full listing of computer terms starting with “W.”
- Computer people and pioneers with “W” first names.
