Quick answer
Copy ° above, or on a Windows keyboard with a numeric keypad hold Alt and type 0176. On a U.S. Mac keyboard, press Option + Shift + 8.
The fastest method for your device
The degree sign is used for angles, geographic coordinates, temperatures, and scientific measurements. It is a separate Unicode character—not a tiny letter “o”—so using the real symbol keeps documents searchable and accessible.
| Device or app | Recommended method |
|---|---|
| Windows desktop | Hold Alt, type 0176 on the numeric keypad, release Alt |
| Windows laptop without a numpad | Copy °, use the emoji/symbol panel, or open Character Map |
| Mac with a U.S. layout | Press Option + Shift + 8 |
| Microsoft Word | Type 00B0, then press Alt + X |
| Google Docs | Insert → Symbols → Special characters, then search “degree” |
| iPhone or Android | Press and hold the 0 key and choose ° |
Type the degree symbol on Windows
Click where the symbol should appear. Turn on Num Lock, hold the Alt key, enter 0176 using the numeric keypad, and then release Alt. The leading zero matters because Windows can interpret short and long Alt-code sequences differently.
If your keyboard has no separate keypad, press Windows + . to open the Windows emoji and symbol panel. Switch to the symbols area and look for the degree sign. Character Map is another dependable fallback: search for “Character Map” from Start, select °, and copy it.
A frequent mistake is typing 0176 with the number row above QWERTY. Traditional Alt codes listen for numeric-keypad input, so that row usually will not work.
Type ° on a Mac
On the U.S. keyboard layout, press Option + Shift + 8. The symbol appears immediately in most text fields.
If that produces a different character, check the active input source in System Settings → Keyboard. Shortcuts are mapped to keyboard layouts, so a British, French, or other layout may differ. You can always open Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space, search for “degree,” and double-click the result.
Insert the degree sign in Word, Docs, and spreadsheets
Microsoft Word supports a useful Unicode conversion: type 00B0 and press Alt + X. Word replaces the hexadecimal code with °. Pressing the same shortcut again can convert it back.
In Google Docs, choose Insert → Symbols → Special characters and search for “degree.” In Excel and Google Sheets, =UNICHAR(176) returns the degree symbol. A formula is handy when a sheet must generate labels automatically, but ordinary copy and paste is simpler for a one-off value.
Use the correct character in code
For HTML, use the character directly when your document is UTF-8, or use °. CSS and JavaScript source files saved as UTF-8 can also contain ° directly. The Unicode code point is U+00B0; its decimal value is 176.
Do not substitute a superscript zero, a ring accent, or the masculine ordinal indicator. Those characters may look close in one font but behave differently in search, screen readers, and data processing.
Common degree-symbol problems
The symbol turns into another character
This is often caused by a legacy font, encoding mismatch, or an Alt-code sequence entered without the leading zero. Switch to a broadly supported font and save the file as UTF-8.
The shortcut works in Word but not in a browser
Alt + X is an application feature, not a universal Windows shortcut. Use the numeric-keypad Alt code, the Windows symbol panel, or copy and paste when you are outside Word.
The symbol is hard to read
Some fonts draw a very small degree ring. Avoid manually increasing its size or replacing it with a letter; choose a font with clear scientific and punctuation glyphs instead.
A useful formatting rule
For an angle, the symbol normally touches the number: 45°. Temperature spacing depends on the style guide and context. Whatever convention you choose, stay consistent across the same document or data set.
References and compatibility
These platform references explain the input methods used above. Availability varies by app and keyboard layout; a Unicode value is not automatically a numeric-keypad Alt code.
Editorial note: Shortcuts can vary by keyboard layout and app. Check the stated platform and use the copy-and-paste fallback when needed. Report a correction with your device, layout, and application; see our editorial policy for limitations.