Short answer: A non-breaking space ( , U+00A0) glues two things onto the same line — “10 km”, “Mr. Smith” — so they never wrap apart. Type it with Ctrl + Shift + Space in Word or Google Docs, Option + Space on Mac, or Alt + 0160 on Windows.
What is a non-breaking space?
A regular space lets a line wrap between words. A non-breaking space glues them together so they never split across two lines. Reach for it when a break would look wrong:
- Number + unit: 10 km, 25 MB, $5, 100 %
- Names & titles: Mr. Smith, J. R. R. Tolkien
- Labels & references: Figure 1, Chapter 3, page 12
One caveat: don’t use for indentation or spacing on the web — that’s what CSS is for. Multiple regular spaces collapse to one in HTML, but stacking is a hack that hurts layout and accessibility.
How to type a non-breaking space
| Where | How |
|---|---|
| Word / Google Docs | Ctrl + Shift + Space |
| Mac (most apps) | Option + Space |
| Windows (Alt code) | Alt + 0160 (numeric keypad) |
| HTML | (or  ) |
| Linux (IBus enabled) | Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00a0, then Enter |
On iPhone and Android there’s no dedicated key — the simplest route is to copy one from the box above and paste it where you need it.
The non-breaking hyphen (a useful cousin)
Same idea, different character. A non-breaking hyphen (U+2011) keeps hyphenated terms like “F‑16” or “e‑mail” from splitting at the hyphen. In Word: Ctrl + Shift + Hyphen. Don’t confuse it with the soft hyphen below, which stays invisible until a word actually breaks.
Other space characters
Not every “wide” space is a non-breaking space. These fixed-width spaces show up in typeset text, pasted PDFs, and multilingual documents:
| Space | Unicode | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Narrow no-break | U+202F | French espace fine insécable — before ; ? ! (the colon takes a full NBSP) |
| Thin space | U+2009 | tight spacing |
| En space / Em space | U+2002 / U+2003 | fixed widths |
| Figure space | U+2007 | width of a digit — aligns numbers |
Invisible characters (zero width)
These are real characters with no visible width at all:
- Zero-width space (U+200B): allows a line break with no visible gap.
- Zero-width joiner / non-joiner (U+200D / U+200C): used in emoji sequences and scripts like Arabic and Hindi.
- Word joiner (U+2060) and BOM / zero-width no-break space (U+FEFF): the BOM often appears at the very start of a file.
- Soft hyphen (U+00AD): invisible unless the word breaks at the end of a line.
- Left-to-right / right-to-left marks (U+200E / U+200F): control text direction.
Why invisible characters cause trouble
You can’t see them, so they’re maddening to debug:
- Code errors: an NBSP or zero-width character sitting where a normal space should be throws an “unexpected token” you’ll stare right past.
- Search & matching fail: a name with a hidden character won’t match the same name without it.
- Data & forms break: CSV imports, passwords, and validation choke on stray invisibles — usually pasted in from the web, a PDF, or Word.
The Excel / Google Sheets gotcha
If a number pasted from the web refuses to add up, or =TRIM() won’t clean a cell, a non-breaking space is usually the culprit. TRIM only removes the regular space (CHAR(32)) — it ignores the non-breaking space (CHAR(160)). Strip it with:
=SUBSTITUTE(A1, CHAR(160), " ")Then wrap that in TRIM if you also have normal padding: =TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(A1, CHAR(160), " ")). The same CHAR(160) trick works identically in Google Sheets.
How to find invisible characters
- Word: press Ctrl + Shift + 8 (Ctrl +
*) to show formatting marks; a non-breaking space appears as a small raised circle. - Code editors: turn on render whitespace; extensions can flag NBSP and zero-width characters right in the gutter.
- Identify one: paste a suspicious character into the Symbol Identifier — it reports the exact code point, even for invisibles.
How to remove them
- Find & Replace by code point: in a code editor, search for
\u00A0,\u200B, or\uFEFFand replace with a normal space or nothing. - Catch them all with regex:
[\u00A0\u200B-\u200F\u2028\u2029\uFEFF]matches the most common troublemakers — NBSP, the zero-width and directional marks, line/paragraph separators, and the BOM — in one pass. - In Word: Find & Replace the special “non-breaking space” (
^s) with a normal space. - Retype short affected text — often faster than hunting a single character.
Non-breaking space vs zero-width space
They’re opposites:
| Width? | Line break? | Symptom when it’s wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-breaking space (U+00A0) | Yes | Prevents one | A gap you can’t delete; words won’t wrap |
| Zero-width space (U+200B) | No | Allows one | A word splitting oddly; strings won’t match |
Knowing which you have explains the symptom instantly.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| My code breaks on a line that looks fine | An NBSP or zero-width character is hiding in it — render whitespace and replace it. |
| Two strings look identical but won’t match | One has an invisible character; paste both into the Symbol Identifier to compare code points. |
| There’s a gap I can’t delete | It may be a fixed-width space (en/em) or an NBSP — show formatting marks to see it. |
| My spreadsheet numbers won’t calculate | Almost certainly an NBSP — clean the column with =SUBSTITUTE(A1, CHAR(160), " "). |
What is a non-breaking space?
A non-breaking space (NBSP) is a space character that prevents a line break between the words or characters it joins, keeping them on the same line. In HTML it is written as , and its Unicode code point is U+00A0.
How do I type a non-breaking space?
You can insert a non-breaking space using these methods:
Microsoft Word or Google Docs: Ctrl + Shift + Space
Mac: Option + Space
Windows: Alt + 0160 (numeric keypad)
HTML:
When should I use a non-breaking space?
Use a non-breaking space whenever two items should stay together on the same line, for example:
A number and its unit: 10 km
A title and a name: Mr. Smith
Labels such as Figure 1 or Table 2
What is a zero-width space or zero-width character?
A zero-width space is an invisible Unicode character, such as U+200B, that has no visible width. It can allow a line break without displaying a space and may unintentionally affect code, searches, or data processing even though it cannot be seen.
How do I find and remove invisible characters?
In Microsoft Word, enable formatting marks to reveal hidden characters. In a code editor, turn on render whitespace or invisible character display. You can then use Find and Replace with Unicode code points such as U+00A0, U+200B, or U+FEFF. If you’re unsure which invisible character you have, paste it into a Unicode or symbol identification tool to determine its code point.
What is the difference between a non-breaking space and a regular space?
A regular space (U+0020) allows text to wrap onto the next line and may collapse with adjacent spaces in some contexts, such as HTML.
A non-breaking space (U+00A0) prevents a line break between the surrounding text and does not collapse, making it useful for keeping related words or numbers together.
Recap
A non-breaking space ( ) keeps words on one line — Ctrl + Shift + Space in Word, Option + Space on Mac, Alt + 0160 on Windows. Invisible characters (zero-width space, BOM, soft hyphen) have no width but quietly break code, search, and spreadsheets. Reveal them with formatting marks or render-whitespace, and remove them with Find & Replace or a quick regex.
Written by Igor R. Tested on Windows 11, macOS, and in Microsoft 365, Google Docs and VS Code. Last updated June 2026. Code points follow the Unicode Standard.