How To Type The Degree Symbol On A Laptop | Fewer Typos

If you only need the symbol once, copy this: °. Paste it beside a number with no space for temperatures, such as 72°F, or with a space when your style sheet asks for one, such as 30 °C.

For regular typing, a saved shortcut is cleaner. Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Word, Google Docs, and laptop keyboards each handle the small circle a bit differently. The right method depends on your keyboard layout, numeric keypad access, and the app you’re typing in.

Use the true degree sign, not a small letter “o,” zero, ring accent, or masculine ordinal mark. The right character is °. It sits higher than a normal letter and pairs neatly with temperature, angles, and map coordinates.

Best Ways To Add The Degree Symbol

The easiest method is the one you can repeat without breaking your flow. On a full Windows keyboard, the Alt code is often the fastest. On a compact laptop, the emoji or symbol panel may beat hunting for a hidden numpad.

Most people only need three habits: know one shortcut, know one menu method, and keep a copy of the symbol in a note. That gives you a fallback when a school portal, email app, spreadsheet, or browser field refuses your normal shortcut.

• Temperature: 68°F, 20°C, 293 K
• Angles: 45°, 90°, 180°
• Coordinates: 40.7128° N, 74.0060° W

Shortcuts also behave differently on built-in keyboards, external keyboards, and remote desktops. Test the method in the exact app you plan to use, then stick with that method for that device. This saves rework when the same file moves between apps and editors with less cleanup later, too.

Before you choose a route, think about where the text will live. A shortcut is great for notes and documents. A picker is safer in a browser field. Copy and paste is the calm choice when a form blocks shortcuts.

Accuracy matters more than speed here. One wrong character can make a recipe, weather note, geometry answer, or coordinate look sloppy. A small typing habit fixes that across nearly every laptop setup.

Typing The Degree Symbol On A Laptop With Shortcuts

Windows Laptop Methods

On Windows, place your cursor where the symbol should go. Hold Alt, type 0176 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Microsoft lists the same shortcut in its degree symbol shortcut notes.

Compact laptops can be trickier because the top number row may not work for this code. Try turning on Num Lock, then use any embedded numeric keypad your model provides. If your laptop has no working numpad layer, press Windows + ., search for “degree,” and pick ° from the symbols panel.

Mac Laptop Methods

On many English Mac keyboards, press Shift + Option + 8 to type °. If your layout gives a different result, open the Character Viewer instead. Apple’s Character Viewer steps show how to browse symbols from the menu bar or keyboard command.

The Character Viewer is handy when you switch between languages or external keyboards. Search “degree,” double-click the symbol, and macOS inserts it at the cursor. It also helps when an app blocks a shortcut or treats a keyboard command as an app action.

Word, Email, And Browser Fields

Word and Outlook usually accept the Windows Alt code. Gmail, web forms, and CMS editors may react differently because the browser can grab certain commands. When that happens, paste the symbol or use the built-in symbol picker from the operating system.

Copying isn’t a lazy fix. It’s often the cleanest choice when you’re working in a locked form, a live chat box, a school testing site, or a remote desktop window. The goal is a correct character, not a fancy shortcut.

Laptop Or App	Best Method	What To Check
Windows With Numpad	Alt + 0176	Num Lock must be on; use keypad numbers.
Windows Without Numpad	Windows + . symbols panel	Search “degree” if it isn’t visible.
Microsoft Word	Alt + 0176 or Insert > Symbol	Pick the degree sign, not the ordinal mark.
MacBook	Shift + Option + 8	Keyboard layout can change the result.
Mac Apps	Character Viewer	Search by name and double-click the symbol.
Chromebook	Google Docs special characters	Best inside Docs, Slides, and pasted text.
Web Forms	Copy and paste °	Check that the form keeps the character after saving.
HTML Editing	° or °	Both can render as the same visible symbol.

Chromebook And Google Docs Options

Chromebooks don’t always follow Windows or Mac habits. In Google Docs, go to Insert > Special characters, search for “degree,” then click the symbol. Google’s special character tool works in Docs and Slides, and the symbol can then be copied into other fields.

For a one-off entry, copy ° from a trusted note and paste it. For repeated work, pin a short text snippet in your notes app. That keeps the symbol ready for weather posts, science homework, recipe temperatures, and map coordinates.

If you write in Google Sheets, type the value and symbol in a text cell when it’s a label, such as Oven 350°F. If you need calculations, keep the number in its own cell and place the unit in a nearby label. That keeps formulas clean.

When The Degree Symbol Looks Wrong

The degree sign is easy to confuse with nearby characters. A small “o” may pass at a glance, but it can look messy in a headline, spreadsheet, or printed handout. The wrong mark can also break search, sorting, or text replacement rules.

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
Alt code does nothing	Top number row used	Use keypad numbers or the symbols panel.
A different symbol appears	Keyboard layout changed	Switch layout or use a character picker.
Symbol pastes as a box	Font lacks the character	Change the font or paste plain text.
Spacing looks odd	Mixed style rules	Use one spacing pattern across the page.
HTML shows code text	Entity placed in a visual editor field	Use ° in visual mode or ° in code mode.

Use The Right Spacing

Temperature style varies by publisher, school, and app. Many U.S. pages write 72°F with no space. Many science and international style rules prefer 20 °C. Angles are normally tight, such as 90°.

If you’re editing a full article, choose one pattern and stick with it. Mixed spacing is what makes text look rushed. Search your draft for °, then scan each match before publishing.

Make A Personal Shortcut

If you type the symbol often, set a text replacement. Pick a trigger you won’t type by accident, such as degx, and make it expand to °. This works well for laptops with cramped keyboards.

Text replacement also cuts typo risk in repeated data entry. Weather notes, lab values, geometry steps, and recipe drafts all benefit from the same saved character. If one trigger fails in an app, choose a longer trigger that won’t clash with spellcheck.

Clean Copy For WordPress And Web Writing

In WordPress, you can type or paste the visible character ° straight into the block editor. In HTML mode, ° is safe too. After saving, preview the post on desktop and phone to confirm the symbol displays the same way.

For tables, check narrow screens. A temperature column with many values can wrap badly if the numbers are long. Short labels, steady spacing, and plain text usually hold up better than decorative symbols.

For recipes, weather notes, and science posts, keep units close to the number. Readers scan values faster when every entry follows the same pattern: 350°F, 375°F, 400°F. The same idea works for angles in math steps.

Easy Copy Box

Copy this line when you need the symbol:

°

Use it for 98.6°F, 37°C, 45°, or 51.5072° N. Once you know the shortcut that fits your laptop, the degree sign becomes one of those tiny typing skills that saves time every week.