How to Make the Degree Symbol on Any Device

The degree symbol (°) is one of those characters that almost everyone needs eventually — whether you're writing about temperature, geographic coordinates, or angle measurements — but almost nobody knows how to type without looking it up. The good news: every major platform has a way to produce it. The method that works best for you depends heavily on which device and operating system you're using.

Why the Degree Symbol Isn't on Standard Keyboards

Standard QWERTY keyboards are designed around the most frequently typed characters in everyday writing. Symbols like °, ©, and ™ didn't make the cut for dedicated keys because they appear infrequently enough that manufacturers assumed users would access them another way. That "other way" varies considerably depending on whether you're on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, or a Linux system.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Windows

Windows gives you several routes, and which one is most practical depends on your keyboard and workflow.

Using Alt Codes (Numeric Keypad Required)

If your keyboard has a numeric keypad, this is the fastest method once you learn it:

1. Place your cursor where you want the symbol
2. Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad
3. Release Alt — the ° symbol appears

This only works with the dedicated numeric keypad, not the number row at the top of the keyboard.

Using the Character Map

Search for Character Map in the Windows Start menu, find the degree symbol, and copy it to your clipboard. This is reliable but slow — better for one-off use than regular typing.

Using Windows Emoji Panel

Press Win + . (Windows key + period) to open the emoji and symbol panel. Switch to the Omega (Ω) symbol tab, search for "degree," and click to insert it. This works without a numeric keypad and is available on Windows 10 and 11.

Copy-Paste from Anywhere

Simply copy ° from this article and paste it wherever you need it. Low-tech, but it works every time.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac

macOS makes this straightforward with a dedicated keyboard shortcut:

• Press Option + Shift + 8

That's it. The ° symbol inserts immediately, no menu navigation required. This shortcut works consistently across macOS applications — in word processors, browsers, email clients, and most text fields.

If you forget the shortcut, you can also go to Edit → Emoji & Symbols in most Mac apps, or press Control + Command + Space to open the character viewer and search for "degree."

How to Make the Degree Symbol on iPhone and iPad 📱

iOS hides the degree symbol behind a long-press gesture:

1. Open any app with a keyboard
2. Tap and hold the zero (0) key
3. A popup appears with alternative characters — slide to ° and release

This works on the standard iOS keyboard without any settings changes. It's the same mechanism used to access accented characters (like é or ü) on other keys.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Android

Android's approach varies slightly depending on the keyboard app you're using (Gboard, Samsung Keyboard, SwiftKey, etc.), but the general method is consistent:

1. Tap the ?123 key to switch to the numbers/symbols view
2. Look for ° directly on that keyboard layer, or tap =< for a second symbols layer where it often appears
3. On some keyboards, long-pressing the 0 key (as on iOS) also works

If your keyboard doesn't display it readily, most Android keyboards support searching for symbols in their settings or through a dedicated symbol browser.

HTML and Web Use

If you're writing code or web content, there are three standard ways to insert a degree symbol in HTML:

For most modern web projects with UTF-8 encoding, pasting the character directly is perfectly acceptable. The HTML entities are useful when working in environments where direct Unicode input is unreliable.

Microsoft Word and Google Docs

Both major word processors have built-in insertion tools:

Microsoft Word: Go to Insert → Symbol → More Symbols, find the degree symbol in the Latin-1 Supplement block, and insert it. Word also supports the Alt+0176 shortcut and will sometimes autocorrect typed sequences depending on your settings.

Google Docs: Go to Insert → Special Characters, search for "degree," and click the symbol. Google Docs does not support Alt codes natively, so the menu route or copy-paste is the standard approach.

The Unicode Behind the Symbol 🔍

The degree symbol has a fixed position in Unicode: U+00B0. This means the character is consistent across operating systems, fonts, and applications — the same underlying character whether you type it on a Mac, Windows PC, or phone. Where things differ is only in the method used to input it, not the character itself.

One important distinction: the degree symbol (°) is different from the masculine ordinal indicator (º), which looks nearly identical but is used in some languages for ordinal numbers. They are separate Unicode characters and may render differently depending on the font.

What Shapes Your Best Method

The degree symbol isn't hard to produce — but the most efficient method shifts depending on a few key variables:

• Whether you have a numeric keypad (changes Windows options significantly)
• How frequently you need the symbol (occasional copy-paste vs. a memorized shortcut)
• Which OS and applications you work in (Mac shortcuts don't transfer to Windows)
• Whether you're writing code, documents, or plain text
• Which mobile keyboard app you have installed

Someone drafting scientific documents daily in Word has different needs than someone who occasionally texts a temperature to a friend. The right method is the one that fits how you actually work — and that part only you can assess.