How to Type Degree Symbol on Keyboard [°]

In today’s guide, you are going to learn how to type the degree symbol on keyboard, for both PC and Mac. Whether you are using a laptop or a desktop, a Mac or a Windows PC, I’ll show you how to type this symbol on any keyboard using a shortcut or the degree symbol’s Alt code.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Quick Help on Typing the Degree Symbol

To type the Degree Sign on the keyboard, simply press down the Alt key and type 0176 using the numeric keypad, then release the Alt key. For Mac users, press Shift + Option + 8 shortcut.

The table below has all the information, including shortcuts you need to type the degree symbol on your PC or Mac. It has the Alt code which you can use on windows and windows apps including Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint.

Symbol Name	Degree Sign
Symbol	°
Degree Shortcut for Mac	Shift + Option + 8
Degree Shortcut for Windows	Alt+0176
Degree shortcut for Word	Ctrl+Shift+@, Space
Degree function in Excel	=CHAR(176)
Degree Symbol Alt Code	0176

Degree symbol copy and paste

One of the easiest ways to get the degree symbol into your Word is to copy and paste.

Below is the degree symbol if you want to copy and paste it into your work:

Type Degree Symbol on Mac

The keyboard shortcut to type the Degree sign on Mac is Shift + Option + 8.

To type the degree symbol on Mac using the above keyboard shortcut, first press the Shift and Option keys simultaneously, then press the 8 key once. These hotkeys will insert the degree sign on Mac.

Type degree symbol with Alt Code on pc

The easiest way to type the degree symbol on a windows PC keyboard is to use a shortcut.

The keyboard shortcut to type degree symbol on Windows is Alt + 0176.

To type the degree symbol on a windows PC using the shortcut, obey the following instructions:

Enable Num Lock by pressing the Num Lock key. Use Fn key plus NumLk to turn on Num Lock on laptops without the numeric keypad.
Press and hold the Alt key on your keyboard.
Then press the degree symbol alt code which is 0176 on the numeric keypad.
After pressing the alt code, release the Alt key. These steps will help you type the degree sign anywhere in Microsoft Windows.

NOTE: If you are using a laptop without the numeric keypad, click here to learn how to use the hidden numeric keypad on such laptops.

How to type degree symbol in word

There are several ways you can insert the degree symbol into Word. You can either use the keyboard shortcuts or use the mouse to insert this symbol into your Word document.

Below are the easy ways to insert the degree symbol in Word.

Using the degree symbol Alt code

If you are using a Windows computer, the easiest way to type the degree symbol in Word is to use the Alt Code shortcut. To do so, just obey the instructions below:

First, launch your Microsoft Word document.
Place the insertion pointer at where you want to type the degree sign.
Turn on Num Lock on your keyboard. Use Fn+NumLk to enable Num Lock on a laptop without the numeric keypad.
Now hold down the Alt key on your keyboard.
Whilst holding on to the Alt key, press the degree symbol Alt code which is 0176.

These steps will insert the degree sign into your Word document.

Using Insert Symbol Dialog

This method is not as simple as using the symbol’s Alt Code. It involves using the mouse to navigate the symbol’s library where you can just click and insert any symbol you want.

However, once you get the symbol in to your document, you can always copy and paste it again wherever and whenever you want to use it.

Without further ado, below are the steps to insert the degree symbol in Word using the Insert Symbol dialog box.

Click on the Insert tab.

Go to the Symbols group and click on the Symbols button, then select More Symbols…

The Symbols dialog box will appear.

From this dialog, scroll down to locate the degree sign. When you see it, double click on it to insert it into your document. Alternatively, select it and click on the Insert button at the bottom right section of the dialog box.

click to select the degree symbol and click on the Insert button

After inserting the degree symbol, click Cancel to close the Symbol dialog.

This is how you may insert the degree sign into MS Word using the insert symbol dialog.

Degree sign shortcut for Word

Another easy way to get the degree symbol into your Word document is to use the shortcut that works specifically in Microsoft Word.

The degree symbol shortcut in Word is Ctrl+@, then Space.

If you are not careful, you cannot type this shortcut right. However, if you do get it right, it can be the fastest approach for you to type the degree symbol in Word.

The tricky part about this shortcut is how to press Ctrl+@. This is because the @ symbol is a second key on the keyboard, which means you have to combine two keys to get it; that is Shift+2 on the American keyboard layout.

Thus, to type this shortcut, you also need to press the Shift key. Below are the steps:

First press Ctrl+Shift+2. The Shift+2 will give you the @ symbol. So technically, you are rather pressing Ctrl+@.
After pressing these keystrokes, don’t press any other key and hit the space bar.

This should give you the degree symbol in your Word document.

Typing degree sign in Excel

You can use the degree symbol alt code to insert the degree sign into your Excel spreadsheet document. To do so, just press and hold the alt key, then press the degree sign alt code which is 0176. As soon as you release the alt key, the degree sign will be inserted into the active cell.

Aside from using the degree symbol alt code, there are more ways you can still get this symbol into your Excel documents. Let’s look at them below.

Using the CHAR formula

The next simple approach after using the Degree symbol alt code is to use the CHAR function. The CHAR function returns any character when you specify that character’s code.

To use the CHAR function to insert the degree sign in Excel:

First, specify the cell where you wish to insert this symbol,
Next, type =CHAR( and then add the symbol’s alt code. The complete formula should look like this: =CHAR(0176) OR =CHAR(176).
As soon as you finish typing this formula, press the enter key to see the result.

What if you don’t want only the degree symbol in the cell? Maybe you want it to be attached to a number, say 30°.

Using Excel Concatenate feature, you can join both the text and the CHAR function in one cell.

Let’s say we really want to type 30° into our cell. To do so, consider the steps below:

Specify the cell you that will contain the content.
Type =30 & into the cell. The & operator is what will join the 30 and the degree symbol.
Now type the degree symbol formula which is CHAR(176).
The complete formula should look like this: =30&CHAR(176)

After typing the formula, hit the enter key to get 30° in the specified cell.

Using the Symbols Library

Another way you can insert the degree symbol into Excel is to use the Insert symbol dialog box. With this approach, you don’t need to use a formula or function as in the above method.

That being said, to get the degree symbol in Excel using the insert symbol dialog, obey the following instructions:

Select the cell that will contain the degree sign. If you want the degree sign to come before or after a particular character or number, place the insertion pointer right there.
Click on the Insert tab.

On the Insert tab, search for the Symbols drop-down button and click on it.
From the dropdown list, select Symbol.

The Symbols dialog box will appear. This is like the library for symbols where you can add any symbol that cannot be seen on the keyboard.

From this Symbol dialog box, search for the degree symbol and double click on it to get it into your work. Alternatively, just select and click on the Insert button at the bottom of the dialog.
Click on the Cancel button to close the dialog.

This is how you may use the Symbol’s dialog box to get the Degree symbol in Excel.