5 ways to insert square root symbol (√ ) in Word (on Keyboard)

If you are looking for ways to insert the Square root symbol in Word using the keyboard, this post is for you.

It contains 5 easy ways including some keyboard shortcuts to insert this symbol into Microsoft Word or any other place.

Some of the methods shown here can be used to insert the symbol in other apps like Excel, PowerPoint, or Access or even somewhere in your browser like Google Docs.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Insert Square root symbol in Word (Quick Help)

The table below is just a quick help. If you don’t have the time to scan through every detail here, the table below will help you a lot. It contains the square root symbol you can easily copy and paste into your work. It also has the square root symbol Alt code as well as the keyboard shortcut.

Name	Square root
Symbol	√
Alt Code	251
Alt code Shortcut	Alt+251
Shortcut (for Word)	221A, Alt+X
Shortcut (Mac)	Option+V

---

To type the square root symbol in Word on your keyboard, press down the Alt key and type the Square Root symbol alt code (i.e. 251) using the numeric keypad, then release the Alt key. Alternatively, for MS Word users, type the character code (221A), then press Alt+X to convert this code into the symbol. On Mac, press Option+V on the keyboard.

The information above is just a quick way to perform the task.

However, if you are not satisfied with this quick help, and want to explore some more details, below is a blow by blow guide on how to insert the Square root symbol, or any other symbol in Word, Excel or PowerPoint.

Very few symbols are printed on the keyboard and you can insert those symbols by simultaneously pressing certain keys on the keyboard.

A lot of symbols, however, aren’t that easy to type since they are not printed on the keyboard. The Square root symbol (√) is one of them.

How to Insert Square root symbol in Word

Today I am going to show you all the easy ways to insert the Square root symbol (√) into Word.

NOTE: Even though I demonstrate using the Square root symbol (√), the same methods can be used to insert any other symbol in Word.

Below are the various ways to insert the Square root symbol.

Option 1: Using insert Equation

Microsoft Word has made typing Math symbols so easy with its insert Equation feature.

With this option, you can effortlessly insert almost any mathematical symbol into your word document.

Below are the steps to help you out:

• Place the insertion pointer where you want to insert the square root symbol.
• Press Alt+= on your keyboard to show the Equation Field.

See screenshot:

• In this field, type \sqrt and press the spacebar.

See screenshot:

As soon as you press the space bar after typing \sqrt, word will insert the square root symbol into your Word document.

Option 2: using the Alt code Shortcut on Keyboard

Every character or symbol in Word has a character code. With this character code, you can insert any symbol including the Square Root symbol using the Keyboard. It is popularly known as the Alt code.

To insert this symbol (using the Alt code), follow these three simple steps:

• Place the insertion pointer at where you want to insert the symbol.
• Hold down the Alt key and type 251 on the numeric keypad and release the Alt key.

Alternatively;

• Type the Alt code – 221A
• Then press Alt+X to convert the code to square root symbol

As soon as you release the Alt code, the symbol (√) should be inserted into your document.

Option 3: Copy and paste the Square root symbol

The copy and paste option can be the easiest option to insert this symbol into MS Word.

Irrespective of the software you are working with, you can always copy and paste any symbol into your work.

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

√

Option 4: Using Insert Symbol Dialog

This method and the next doesn’t involve using the keyboard. Therefore, it can only be used in applications that have the insert symbol function such as Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access.

Below are the steps to insert the square root symbol using the Insert Symbol dialog.

• On the Insert tab, click the Symbol button and Click More Symbols…

The Symbols dialog box will appear. It’s now the time to look for the symbol you want to insert (the Square root symbol).

• Locate the Symbol

In the gallery of symbols, look for the square root symbol by scrolling up or down using the scroll bar.

If you cannot find the symbol, at the bottom right area of the dialog, select Unicode (hex) in the from drop-down. Again, at the top right area of the dialog, select Mathematical Operators in the Subset drop-down.

This way, only the Mathematical Operators including the Square root symbol will show in the visible area of the Symbols dialog.

Alternatively, just type 221A in the Character code field, the symbol will appear and already selected for you.

See screenshot:

• Click to select the symbol, and then click Insert. Alternatively, you can just double-click on the square root symbol to insert it into your document, then close the dialog.

• After inserting, close the Symbol dialog box.

This is how you may insert the Square root symbol into Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Access using the insert symbol dialog.

Option 5: Using AutoCorrect Keyboard Shortcut

Another way to obtain the Square root symbol is through the use of AutoCorrect feature.

It is a facility designed for correcting spelling mistakes. For example, if you type thsi Word will correct it to this.

Using this feature, you can assign an AutoCorrect text to the symbol (such as SQRT).

This way, whenever you type the text SQRT with your keyboard, Word will think that you actually wanted to type the square root symbol (√) and will convert it for you automatically.

This approach is particularly useful when you need to frequently insert the symbol into your work.

Without further ado, below are the steps you can use to assign AutoCorrect text to symbols.

• On the Insert tab, click the Symbol button and choose More Symbols…

The Symbol dialog appears.

• Locate the symbol, then click to select it.
• Click on the AutoCorrect… button to display the AutoCorrect dialog.

In the AutoCorrect dialog box, enter the following:

• Replace: SQRT (or any text you want to assign to the symbol.
• With: √

• Click Add, then click OK.

Word will automatically insert the symbol into your document whenever you type SQRT.

Below are some few things to note though when you are using the AutoCorrect approach.

• AutoCorrect is case sensitive. Meaning if you type sqrt (in lowercase), Word will not convert it into the Square root symbol unless you type SQRT (in uppercase).
• If there is any text before or after the AutoCorrect text, Word will consider the AutoCorrect text as part of the text and hence will not convert. For example, XSQRT will not get converted, but X SQRT will get converted to X √.