How to Find Spell Check in Microsoft Word (Every Version)

Spell check is one of Word's most used features — but depending on your version, your operating system, or even how Word was installed, it doesn't always show up in the same place. Here's a clear breakdown of where to find it, how it works, and what affects whether it catches your mistakes.

Where Spell Check Lives in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word has two layers of spell checking:

• Automatic spell check — runs as you type, underlining errors in red (spelling) or blue/green (grammar)
• Manual spell check — a full document review you trigger yourself

Both are controlled from the same settings area, but you access them slightly differently.

Running a Manual Spell Check

The fastest route to a manual spell check in any modern version of Word:

1. Click the Review tab in the top ribbon
2. Click Spelling & Grammar (the first button on the left in the Proofing group)
3. A side panel or dialog box opens, walking you through each flagged issue

Keyboard shortcut: Press F7 — this works across virtually every version of Word on Windows and most versions on Mac. It's the fastest way to trigger the spell check without touching the ribbon at all.

Spell Check on Word for Mac

On Word for Mac, the path is almost identical:

1. Click the Review tab
2. Select Spelling & Grammar

The F7 shortcut also works on Mac, though some keyboard configurations require pressing Fn + F7 depending on your function key settings.

Word for the Web (Microsoft 365 Online)

In the browser-based version of Word, spell check works slightly differently:

• Automatic underlining still appears as you type
• For a full review, go to Review → Spelling & Grammar in the top menu
• The experience is more limited than the desktop app — some grammar suggestions and language tools are reduced in the web version

Where Automatic Spell Check Settings Are Hidden

If the red underlines aren't appearing as you type, the automatic spell check may have been turned off. Here's where to re-enable it:

1. Go to File → Options (on Windows) or Word → Preferences (on Mac)
2. Click Proofing
3. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, make sure these are checked:
   • ✅ Check spelling as you type
   • ✅ Mark grammar errors as you type

This is a per-installation setting, which means it can vary between computers even if you're using the same Microsoft 365 account.

Why Spell Check Might Not Be Working

There are several reasons spell check behaves inconsistently — and they're not always obvious. 🔍

The Language Setting Problem

One of the most common reasons spell check stops working correctly is a mismatched language setting. If a block of text is formatted as a different language (French, for example), Word uses that language's dictionary — or skips it entirely if that language pack isn't installed.

To check: highlight the text → go to Review → Language → Set Proofing Language and confirm the correct language is selected.

Text Marked "Do Not Check Spelling"

Word allows individual paragraphs or even single words to be flagged so spell check skips them entirely. This sometimes happens when text is copied from another document. To remove this:

1. Select the affected text
2. Go to Review → Language → Set Proofing Language
3. Uncheck the box that says Do not check spelling or grammar

Spell Check Across Different Word Versions

The core spell check feature has existed in Word for decades, but the interface and capability have evolved:

Microsoft 365 subscribers also get access to the Editor feature — an expanded version of spell check that includes style suggestions, clarity scoring, and more advanced grammar checking. You'll find it as a separate button in the Review tab, sitting alongside the standard Spelling & Grammar tool.

Custom Dictionaries and Autocorrect

Word's spell check behavior is also shaped by two features that run alongside it:

• Custom Dictionary — words you've added by clicking "Add to Dictionary" are permanently ignored. These are stored locally, so they won't carry over to a different machine.
• AutoCorrect — fixes certain errors before spell check even sees them. If a common typo is being silently corrected, it won't show as a spell check error at all.

Both can be managed under File → Options → Proofing on Windows or Word → Preferences → AutoCorrect on Mac.

What Affects Your Spell Check Experience

How well spell check works — and where exactly you find the settings — depends on a combination of factors that vary from user to user:

• Which version of Word you're running (desktop, web, or mobile)
• Your operating system and whether function keys are configured as standard
• Your Microsoft 365 subscription tier (Editor features aren't available in all plans)
• Language packs installed on your machine
• How the document was created or whether it was copied from another source
• Local settings that were changed on your specific installation

Someone using Word 2016 on Windows with a corporate IT configuration will have a noticeably different experience than someone on Microsoft 365 Personal running Word for Mac — even though the core spell check works the same way at its foundation. Your specific setup determines which of these steps apply and which limitations you might run into. 🖊️