How to Insert or Type Degree Symbol In Microsoft Word

Degree ( ° ) symbol is commonly used to indicate temperature, measurement, coordinates, hours (in the medical field), alcohol proof, musical quality, and others. Everyone has to use it at some point in their life, some people more than others.

If you use the degree symbol often in your writing, you probably know how to insert it into Word by now. However, if you don’t use it often, or never used it before, you probably wondering how to insert it into Word as there is no dedicated key for it on your keyboard.

Some people even save the degree ( ° ) symbol in a file or look it up online and then copy-paste it into their document, every time they need it. Even if you already knew how to insert the ° symbol or use some long-winded way to insert it, read this article to find out the 7 different ways to add the degree symbol in Word. And then you can decide which one works best for you.

1. Type Degree Symbol Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Let’s start with the easiest method for entering a degree symbol in a Word document which is to use the keyboard shortcuts. MS Word offers pre-defined shortcut keys that enable you to add a degree symbol anywhere in your document. Here’s what you need to do:

First, open the document and place your cursor where you want to insert the degree ° symbol. Then, use any of the below key combinations:

ALT+0176 – Make sure the Num Lock is On. Then, hold the Alt key and press 0176 keys sequentially on the Numeric Pad on the right side of your keyboard.
ALT+246 – Make sure the Num Lock is On. Then, hold the Alt key and press 246 keys sequentially on the Numeric Pad on the right.

Now, release the Alt key and the degree symbol will appear.

Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Shift+@ and then Space to enter a ° symbol.

2. Use Unicode to Add Degree Symbol

This is similar to the above method that can also be used to add the degree symbol in MS Word. All you need to do is type Unicode for the degree symbol and then immediately press Alt+X to insert the degree symbol.

Simply type 00b0 or 00B0 and right after that press Alt+X to insert the degree symbol.

If you are using this with other words or numbers, be sure to leave a space before typing the above Unicode otherwise, Word will consider the Unicode as part of the string and won’t return the degree symbol.

For instance, if you want to enter 35°, you need to type 35, a space, and then type 00B0 (35 00B0) instead of 3500B0. And immediately after that press Alt+X.

After that delete the space before the degree symbol.

3. Copy-Paste the Degree Symbol

If the above shortcuts are hard to remember and you don’t use the degree that often, you can just copy and paste the symbol to insert it.

You can either copy the below degree symbol or search for the symbol online and copy it. Then, paste the symbol wherever you want it:

°

4. Add Degree Symbol using the Insert Symbol Dialog Box

The most common way to insert any symbol including the degree symbol in Word is through the Insert Symbol feature. The Symbol is an inbuilt feature that allows you to insert all kinds of symbols and characters in your document such as Degree, Trade Mark sign, Copyright sign, etc. Here’s how you can add symbols from the Symbol dialog box:

Open the Word document and move your cursor where you want to insert the degree symbol. Then go to the ‘Insert’ tab in the ribbon and click on the ‘Symbol’ icon in the Symbols group.

Then, select ‘More Symbols’ from the menu.

In the Symbol dialog box, select the font that you already working with from the ‘Font’ drop-down.

Then, scroll down the list of symbols, locate the degree symbol and select it. But make sure to select the correct symbol, because there are other symbols that look exactly like the degree symbol (for example, Ring above, Superscript zero, etc.).

To make sure you selected the right symbol, verify the name of the selected symbol is the ‘Degree sign’ under the ‘Unicode name:’ section. Then, click the ‘Insert’ button and then the ‘Close’ button.

If you having a hard time finding the symbol, you can just type the Unicode in the ‘Character code’ field which is 00B0. Typing the correct character code will automatically select the symbol. Then, click ‘Insert’ to insert the symbol.

And the degree symbol will be inserted in the selected location.

5. Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts to Insert the Degree Symbol

You can insert almost any symbol in Word using keyboard shortcuts. Each symbol or sign has its own shortcuts. To find the shortcut for a symbol, go to the ‘Insert’ tab and select ‘Symbols’. Then, click ‘More Symbols’.

In the Symbols dialog, find the symbol that you want to insert and select it. When you select a symbol, you will see its shortcut below.

If the default keyboard shortcut is too hard for you to remember, you can create your own shortcut keyboards to insert the degree symbol in Word. Let us see how we can do that:

To create a custom shortcut for the symbol, click the ‘Shortcut Key…’ button on the lower portion of the Symbols dialog box.

This opens another dialog box called Customize Keyboard. Now, click in the ‘Press new shortcut key’ box and hit the key combination you want to assign to the degree symbol (e.g. Alt+Shift+D). Then, click the ‘Assign’ button.

Normally, the shortcut keys are saved in the Normal.dotm template, but you can change it if you want (but it is not necessary). After assigning the shortcut, click ‘Close’ twice to close both dialog boxes.

Now, you can use the assigned shortcut keys to insert the degree symbol.

6. Add Degree Symbol using the Character Map

Character Map is a built-in tool that allows you to view all available characters and their Unicodes (as well as copy them to the clipboard) in each installed font on your computer. The character map can also help you to insert the degree symbol in Microsoft Word. Here’s how:

Open the start menu, type ‘Character Map’ in the search box, and launch it from the result.

The Character Map will be launched with a list of numerous symbols and characters. If you could find the degree symbol in the list, double-click on it, and click ‘Copy’. But, with thousands of characters, it will be harder to find the degree symbol. So, click the ‘Advanced view’ option in the lower-left corner of the window.

Next, type ‘degree’ or ‘degree sign’ in the search box (Search for:) at the bottom and click ‘Search’.

The tool will search for the symbol in the character map and show you only the characters that are related to your search. If you search ‘Degree’, you will get a Degree sign, Degree Celsius, and Degree Fahrenheit symbols.

Now, either double-click on the degree sign or select the degree sign and click ‘Select’.

Once you do that, the selected symbol will appear in the ‘Characters to copy:’ field. Then, click the ‘Copy’ button to copy the symbol to the clipboard.

You can also just type the Degree symbol Unicode in the ‘Go to Unicode’ field which is 00B0. Typing the correct character code will automatically select the symbol. Then, click ‘Select’ and then ‘Copy’ to copy the symbol.

If you want the ‘Degree Celsius’ or/and ‘Degree Fahrenheit’ symbol instead, you can double-click on it and select ‘Copy’ to copy it. You can copy more than one character from the Character Map utility.

After the Degree symbol is copied to the clipboard, you can paste it anywhere you want. Open your document, move your cursor where you want to insert the symbol, and press Ctrl+V.

7. Insert Degree Symbol using the AutoCorrect Feature

AutoCorrect is another alternative way to quickly insert any special character, including a degree sign in Microsoft Word. AutoCorret is a special feature that allows users to automatically correct common typos and spelling errors by replacing them with the correct/specific text or character.

You need to assign a specific text or abbreviation to the degree symbol and Word will autocorrect that string into a degree symbol whenever you type it. Here are these steps for creating your own AutoCorrect shortcut in Word:

Open MS Word and switch to the ‘Insert’ tab, and click the ‘Symbol’ button in the Symbols group. In the drop-down menu, select ‘More Symbols’.

In the Symbols dialog box, click the ‘AutoCorrect…’ button at the bottom-left corner of the dialog box.

With the AutoCorrect feature, there are ways you can add a degree symbol in Word: AutoCorrect and Math AutoCorrect.

Using the ‘Replace text as you type’ option in AutoCorrect

In this method, the AutoCorrect feature will automatically replace the specified abbreviation or string (whenever you type it in Word) with the degree symbol.

When the AutoCorrect dialog box opens, go to the ‘AutoCorrect’ tab, and make sure the ‘Replace text as you type’ option is checked. After that, select ‘Plain text’ below.

Then, enter the abbreviation or string in the ‘Replace’ input box. It could be anything that you would like to replace automatically with the degree symbol – e.g. DEG, <o>, DEGSY.

After that, enter a degree symbol into the ‘With:’ input bar. You can enter the degree symbol by pressing ALT+0176 or Alt+248. Then, click ‘Add’.

This will add the shortcut to the AutoCorrect list. Now, click ‘OK’, and ‘Close’ to close the dialog boxes.

Now, place your cursor where you want to insert the degree symbol, type DEGS, and hit Space to autocorrect this into the degree symbol.

Using the Math AutoCorrect

Open the AutoCorrect dialog box using the same steps above and go to the ‘Math AutoCorrect’ tab.

Then, make sure the ‘Use Math AutoCorrect rules outside of the math regions’ option is enabled. Next, scroll down the list of rules and check if the \degree – ° rule (default) is available. Then, click ‘OK’.