How to Write the Degree Sign in Microsoft Word (Every Method Explained)

The degree symbol — ° — is one of those characters that appears constantly in technical documents, recipes, weather reports, and academic writing, yet it's nowhere on a standard keyboard. Microsoft Word offers several ways to insert it, and the method that works best depends on how often you need it, what version of Word you're running, and how comfortable you are with keyboard shortcuts versus menu navigation.

Why the Degree Sign Isn't on Your Keyboard

Standard keyboard layouts follow the ASCII character set for the most common keys, and the degree symbol (Unicode character U+00B0) didn't make the cut for a dedicated key. That doesn't mean it's hard to insert — it just means you need to go slightly off the beaten path. Word makes this reasonably straightforward once you know where to look.

Method 1: Keyboard Shortcut (Fastest for Regular Use)

The quickest way to insert a degree sign in Word is with a keyboard shortcut:

• Windows: Press Ctrl + Shift + @, then press the Space bar
• Alternative Windows: Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad (not the row of numbers across the top), then release Alt
• Mac: Press Shift + Option + 8

The Alt + 0176 method works across virtually all Windows applications, not just Word. The Ctrl + Shift + @ + Space method is Word-specific and may behave differently depending on your keyboard language settings and regional configuration.

🔑 The numeric keypad method requires Num Lock to be active. On laptops without a dedicated numpad, this may not work unless your keyboard has a Fn-based numpad layer.

Method 2: Insert Symbol Menu (Most Reliable)

If shortcuts feel unreliable or you're in a document you rarely update, the Insert menu gets you there without memorizing anything:

1. Click Insert in the top ribbon
2. Select Symbol, then More Symbols
3. In the Font dropdown, leave it set to your current font (or choose (normal text))
4. In the Subset dropdown, select Latin-1 Supplement
5. Locate the ° symbol (it's near the top of that subset)
6. Click Insert, then Close

Word also remembers recently used symbols, so after the first time, the degree sign will often appear in the Symbol > Recently Used Symbols shortcut list — saving several clicks on future uses.

Method 3: AutoCorrect (Best for High-Frequency Use)

If you frequently type temperatures or angles, setting up an AutoCorrect rule can automate the whole process:

1. Go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options
2. In the Replace field, type a trigger like deg or (deg)
3. In the With field, paste the actual ° symbol
4. Click Add, then OK

From that point forward, typing your trigger word followed by a space or punctuation will automatically swap in the degree symbol. This works particularly well in documents with repetitive temperature data.

Method 4: Unicode Entry (Power User Method)

Word for Windows supports direct Unicode entry:

1. Type 00B0 (the Unicode code point for the degree symbol)
2. Immediately press Alt + X
3. Word converts the code into the ° symbol in place

This is fast once memorized and eliminates any dependency on the numeric keypad. Note that this method is Windows-only and works in Word but not in most other applications.

Comparing All Methods at a Glance

Common Mistakes That Cause Problems

Using the ordinal indicator instead of the degree symbol. The masculine ordinal indicator º (used in abbreviations like "1º" in some languages) looks nearly identical to the degree symbol but is a different character. If you copied a degree sign from a web page and it looks slightly off or behaves strangely, this is a likely culprit.

Superscripted lowercase "o". Some people manually format a lowercase letter o as superscript to mimic the degree symbol. This creates a character that looks similar in print but is semantically wrong — it will cause problems in screen readers, data processing, and any context where the document is parsed rather than just read visually.

Numpad shortcuts failing on laptops. Many laptop keyboards don't activate the numpad with Num Lock alone — you may also need the Fn key. If Alt + 0176 produces nothing or the wrong character, this is the most common reason. 🔍

Variables That Affect Which Method Works for You

How often you insert the degree symbol matters significantly. Someone writing a single recipe needs something simple and memorable — the Insert menu or the Mac shortcut covers that cleanly. A technical writer documenting temperature specs across hundreds of pages has a different calculation entirely; AutoCorrect or a Unicode shortcut pays off much faster.

Operating system and keyboard hardware create real differences. Mac users have a straightforward, system-wide shortcut that works everywhere. Windows users have more options but more variation depending on keyboard type and Word version. Older versions of Word for Windows (pre-2013) may handle the Ctrl + Shift + @ shortcut differently than current Microsoft 365 builds.

Document context also shifts the picture. If the degree symbol needs to be semantically correct for accessibility compliance or document parsing — rather than just visually correct — the Unicode character inserted via any of these methods is the right approach, while the superscript-o workaround is always the wrong one regardless of how the document looks on screen.

Which method fits depends on what you're building, how often, and on what machine — and that part only you can see from where you're sitting.