Spell Check In Microsoft Word

How To Check Spelling In Microsoft Word

When you create a Microsoft Word document for other people to read, it's important to spot and correct any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors you've made. You can let Word's spelling and grammar checkers suggest corrections automatically while you work, or you can check the spelling and grammar in the file all at once when you've finished writing your document. Microsoft Word 2010 comes with a dictionary of standard grammar and spellings, but they are not comprehensive.

Check Spelling And Grammar All At Once

Let's look at how to check spelling and grammar in Word, all at once. It's a good idea to proofread your document once you've completed it, and using the Word spell checker should be part of this process. When Word highlights mistakes you've made, it offers suggestions for replacing the word, and there are several courses of action you can take:

  • Use one of the suggested words to fix the error - select the word in the Suggestions list, and then click Change.
  • Change the incorrect word manually - select the Not in Dictionary check box, change the word and then click Change.
  • The highlighted word is actually a real word - add this to Word's dictionary by clicking Add to Dictionary.
  • Ignore the incorrect word for now - click Ignore Once.
  • Ignore all occurrences of the word - click Ignore All.
  • Get Word to autocorrect the word - select the correct word in the Suggestions list, and then click AutoCorrect.

To spell check your entire document, click Review > Proofing > Spelling & Grammar. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

Spelling And Grammar Checking In Word

After you've fixed a misspelled word using the above steps, Word moves onto the next one misspelled. Once the spelling mistakes are complete Word moves onto grammar checking. You can resolve grammar issues in the same way.

Check Spelling And Grammar Automatically

Microsoft Word can flag misspelled words while you type so that you can easily locate them, as in the following example:

Spellimg Mistakes In Word

When you right click on the misspelled word, Word offers you suggestions for corrections.

Spellimg Mistakes In Word

As you can see, the right click menu offers you other options, such as ignoring the word and adding it to the dictionary.

Word highlights misspelled words by underlining them with a red squiggle, and grammatical errors by underlining them with a blue squiggle.

Turning Off Automatic Spelling And Grammar Checking

By default, automatic spelling and grammar checking is turned on. However, if you want to turn it off, click the File tab > Help > Options > Proofing. You can hide spelling and grammar errors using the two check boxes at the bottom of the window, and you can apply these changes to either the current document, or all new ones using the drop down list.