How to Insert a Line Break in Word (Shift+Enter and More)

Pressing Enter in Word starts a new paragraph, which often adds extra spacing you didn’t want, breaks bullet lists into new items, or messes up numbering. A line break (also called a manual or soft line break) moves text to the next line while keeping it in the same paragraph. This guide shows how to insert a line break on Windows, Mac, and the web, how it differs from page and section breaks, and how to find or remove line breaks.

Quick Answer

Place your cursor where you want the new line and press Shift + Enter (Windows or the web) or Shift + Return (Mac). Or go to Layout > Breaks > Text Wrapping. Word inserts a line break shown as ↵ when formatting marks are visible.

Insert a Line Break

Keyboard shortcut (fastest)

1. Click where you want the text to move to the next line.
2. Press Shift + Enter (Mac: Shift + Return).

From the ribbon

1. Click where you want the break.
2. Go to the Layout tab (called Page Layout in older versions).
3. Click Breaks and choose Text Wrapping.

When to Use a Line Break

• Addresses and signatures where lines should stay tightly spaced.
• Inside a bullet or numbered list item, to add a second line without creating a new bullet.
• Headings you want to split over two lines without creating two headings in the navigation pane or table of contents.
• Poems and lyrics you wrote, where every line is part of one stanza.

Line Break vs. Other Breaks

Break	Shortcut	What it does
Paragraph (Enter)	Enter	Starts a new paragraph with paragraph spacing and a new list item
Line break	Shift + Enter	New line in the same paragraph
Page break	Ctrl + Enter	Moves the following text to a new page
Column break	Ctrl + Shift + Enter	Moves text to the next column
Section break	Layout > Breaks	Starts a new section with its own layout (margins, orientation, headers)

See Line Breaks in Your Document

Click Home > Show/Hide ¶ or press Ctrl + Shift + 8 (Mac: Cmd + 8). Line breaks show as ↵ and paragraph breaks as ¶. Click the button again to hide them; they never print.

Remove Line Breaks

One at a time

Turn on Show/Hide ¶, click just after the ↵ symbol, and press Backspace.

All at once with Find and Replace

1. Press Ctrl + H to open Replace.
2. In Find what, type ^l (a lowercase L). This finds manual line breaks.
3. In Replace with, type a space (or ^p to turn them into paragraph breaks).
4. Click Replace All.

This is especially handy for text pasted from PDFs or emails, which often has a line break at the end of every line. To remove extra paragraph marks instead, search for ^p^p and replace with ^p.

Line Breaks in Word for the Web and Mobile

• Word for the web: Shift + Enter works the same way.
• Word on iPhone, iPad, or Android: the on-screen keyboard doesn’t have a Shift + Enter option; use a paragraph break and adjust spacing, or connect a keyboard.

Troubleshooting

• Line looks stretched out: in justified text, the line before a line break stretches across the page. Press Shift + Enter less, or change that paragraph’s alignment. Advanced option: File > Options > Advanced > Layout options > Don’t expand character spaces on a line ending with Shift-Return.
• Extra space still appears: check Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing; spacing before or after the paragraph still applies to the whole paragraph.
• Shortcut doesn’t work: some keyboard utilities or remote desktop apps capture Shift + Enter; use Layout > Breaks > Text Wrapping.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a soft return and a hard return?

A soft return is a line break (Shift + Enter). A hard return is a paragraph break (Enter).

Do line breaks work in tables?

Yes. Press Shift + Enter inside a table cell to start a new line in that cell.

How do I add a line break in Excel?

In Excel, press Alt + Enter (Mac: Option + Return) inside a cell.

Summary

1. Press Shift + Enter (Mac: Shift + Return) to insert a line break.
2. Or use Layout > Breaks > Text Wrapping.
3. Turn on Show/Hide ¶ to see ↵ symbols.
4. Remove many at once with Find and Replace using ^l.