Vertical bar (|)
The vertical bar (|), called the pipe in computing, is a single upright line. On a command line it joins programs so that one program’s output becomes the next one’s input; in maths, a pair of bars around a number means its absolute value.
How to read it
Unicode names it VERTICAL LINE (U+007C) and gives vertical bar and pipe as other names. Its chart notes the mathematical use, in pairs to show absolute value (|−3| is 3), and its use on its own as a separator. The computing name comes from Unix pipelines. The GNU Bash manual defines a pipeline as commands separated by |, so that the output of each command becomes the input of the next. Dennis Ritchie’s example is sort input | pr | opr, which sorts a file, lays it out in pages and prints it.
Also searched as: |, pipe, pipe symbol, vertical bar meaning, vertical bar symbol, vertical line symbol.
Look-alikes
The broken bar ¦ (U+00A6) has a gap in the middle; Unicode also calls it the broken vertical bar and, in typography, the parted rule, and cross-refers it to |. Unicode’s chart also points from | to other upright strokes that are separate characters: the letter for the dental click ǀ (U+01C0), the Hebrew paseq ׀ (U+05C0) and the Devanagari danda । (U+0964).
More punctuation and typographic symbols
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- C0 Controls and Basic Latin: Range 0000–007F (code chart), The Unicode Standard, Version 18.0, Unicode Consortium, Basic Latin, 007C; Basic Latin, 007C (cross-references)
- C1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (code chart, Range 0080–00FF), The Unicode Standard, Version 18.0, Unicode Consortium, Latin-1 Supplement, 00A6
- Bash Reference Manual, 3.2.3 Pipelines, GNU Project, Free Software Foundation, 3.2.3
- The Evolution of the Unix Time-sharing System, Dennis M. Ritchie (1979; web edition), Nokia Bell Labs, Pipes
- Prophetic Petroglyphs: Advice from Doug McIlroy, Dennis M. Ritchie, retyping page 10 of a 1964 Bell Labs memo by Doug McIlroy, Nokia Bell Labs, Retyped memo page
Last reviewed October 1, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research