How to Insert an Exponent in Word: Full Guide

Download Article

Learn how to add exponents to your documents quickly and easily

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: July 27, 2026 Fact Checked

Download Article

• Keyboard Shortcut
|
• Ribbon Shortcuts
|
• Symbol Menu
|
• Font Dialog
|
• Equation Editor (Current Versions)
|
• Equation Editor (Older Versions)
|
• Video
|
• Tips

|Show more |Show less

In Microsoft Word, inserting exponents isn't hard, but there are a number of ways to do it, and these methods vary depending on which version of Word you're using. In this article, we'll teach you six quick and easy ways to insert an exponent in Word, no matter if you're using an old version like Word 2003 or the newest Microsoft 365 version. Keep reading to learn more!

Ways to Add Exponents in Word

• Press Ctrl+Shift++ and type your exponent, then press the keys again to disable superscript mode. You can also press the superscript button on the ribbon or open the font dialog and enable superscript from there.
• Click the Symbol button in the "Insert" tab, then go to the "Superscripts and Subscripts" section.
• Insert the exponent equation using the Equation Editor.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Using a Keyboard Shortcut

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Place your cursor after the number you want to add an exponent to. This method works with any font because it uses Word's built-in superscript formatting tools.

   • Note that this keyboard shortcut may not work on older versions of Word. You'll want to use one of the other methods in this article to add an exponent in an older version of Word.
   • Alternatively, you can type your exponent first, then highlight it.
2. 
   2
   Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift++. You'll notice that the blinking cursor gets smaller and moves towards the top of the line. This means you're in superscript mode. Exponents are written in superscript, which makes the font smaller and moves it to the top of the line.

   • If you're using Word for Mac, use the shortcut ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift++ instead.
   Advertisement
3. 
   3
   Type your desired exponent. You'll see that the numbers are smaller.

   • If you already typed your number and highlighted it instead, you don't have to do this step.
4. 
   4
   Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift++ again once you're done with the exponent. This will toggle off superscript mode so you can continue typing other words or numbers normally.

   • If you're using a Mac, use ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift++ instead.
   • If you already typed your exponent and highlighted it, you may not have to do this step. Simply click out of the highlighted exponent. If you see that your text is still small, press the keyboard shortcut again to toggle it off.
Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Using the Ribbon

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Place your cursor where you want to add an exponent. This method also works well for any font, as it uses the superscript tool.

   • Note that this method will not work in Word 2003 or earlier, but it will work in 2007 or later.
   • Alternatively, you can type your exponent first, then highlight it.
2. 
   2
   Click the x² button. It's in the ribbon at the top of the screen, in the "Font" section. It's directly under the dropdown to select your font size, and to the left of the blue "A" dropdown that allows you to change your text style.
3. 
   3
   Type the desired exponent. You'll see that the numbers are smaller and positioned towards the top part of the line.

   • If you've already typed your number and highlighted it, you don't need to do this step.
4. 
   4
   Click the x² button again. This will turn off superscript mode so you can resume typing other words or numbers normally.

   • If you already typed your exponent and highlighted it, you may not have to do this step. Simply click out of the highlighted exponent. If you see that your text is still small, press the superscript button again to toggle it off.
Advertisement

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Using the Symbols Menu

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Click Insert at the top of the window. This will change the ribbon to the "Insert" menu in current versions of Word for Windows and Mac.

   • If you're using Word 2003, skip this step.
2. 
   2
   Open the Symbol dialog. Word lets you insert special symbols into your text through the Symbol dialog. How you open the dialog depends on your Word version:

   • For Word 2007 and later, which use the ribbon interface, click the Symbol button (which displays the Greek letter omega). Make sure to click the Symbol button itself, not the arrow below it.
   • For Word 2003 and earlier, select "Symbol" from the "Insert" menu.
     • Note: This method works best with a default font, such as Calibri, Cambria, Arial, or Times New Roman. Custom fonts don't always have the correct superscript symbols included to use this method. If you're using a custom font, try using Word's built-in superscript formatting tools.
3. 
   3
   Choose the font you want to display the exponent in (optional). In most cases, you'll want the exponent in the same font as the rest of the text, so you can leave the setting "(normal text)" in the Font menu alone.

   • If you want to display the exponent in a different font, click the down arrow button to the right of the menu and select the font you desire from the list.
   • Be aware that not all fonts include superscripted numbers or letters. If the font you're using for your primary text doesn't support the exponent you want to add, you'll have to choose a font that supports the exponent.
4. 
   4
   Choose the exponent you want to display. Scroll to the exponent using the scroll bar on the right of the character display, or you can select one of these options from the Subset dropdown menu: "Latin-1 Supplement" (or simply "Latin-1") or "Superscripts and Subscripts." The available numeric exponents are "1," "2," and "3," and a superscripted "n" is available to represent an exponent variable. Click on the superscript character to select it.
5. 
   5
   Insert the exponent in your text. Click the Insert button at the bottom of the Symbol dialog. This will close the dialog and insert your exponent at the cursor position.

   • In Word 2007 and later, after you select an exponent, it will appear in the Recently Used Symbols display at the bottom of the Symbols dialog page. If you want to use the exponent again, you can select it from this location.
Advertisement

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Using the Font Dialog

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Select the text you want to format as an exponent. Place your cursor in front of the number or letter you want to format as superscript (an exponent), then hold down your left mouse button and drag the cursor over the text to highlight it.

   • This method will work well no matter what font you're using, as it uses Word's built-in superscript formatting options to create an exponent.
2. 
   2
   Access the Font dialog. The Font dialog not only lets you change the font and point size of your text, but also lets you format it in a number of ways, including setting it as an exponent. How you access the Font dialog depends on your Word version.

   • For Word 2007 and later, click the diagonal down arrow button at the right of the Font section in the Home ribbon tab.
   • For Word 2003 and earlier, select "Font" from the "Format" menu.
   • Your highlighted text will be displayed in the Preview window.
3. 
   3
   Check the "Superscript" box in the Effects section. The text in the Preview window will appear small and raised.
4. 
   4
   Click OK. This closes the Font dialog and displays your selected text as superscript.

   • Instead of typing the text you want to superscript first, you can bring up the Font dialog, check "Superscript," click OK, and then type your text. If you do this, you must bring up the Font dialog box after typing your superscripted text and uncheck "Superscript" to turn this feature off.
Advertisement

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Using the Equation Editor (Word 2007 and later)

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Click Insert at the top of the window. This will change the ribbon to the "Insert" menu.
2. 
   2
   Open the Equation Editor. Click the Equation button (which displays the Greek letter pi) in the Symbols section of the Insert ribbon tab. Make sure to click the Equation icon itself, not the arrow below it.

   • You can open the equation editor from a new or existing document, but the Equation Editor is available only in Word's XML-based .docx or .dotx formats.
3. 
   3
   Select the Script option from the Structures section of the Design tab. This option button displays an "e" raised to the power of "x." Clicking the option button displays a dropdown menu with headings labeled "Subscripts and Superscripts" and "Common Subscripts and Superscripts."
4. 
   4
   Select the first option under "Subscripts and Superscripts." This option displays a larger dashed-line rectangular box with a smaller, raised rectangular box to its right. Selecting this option displays a similar pair of boxes in the Equation field on the document page.
5. 
   5
   Enter the number or variable (base) to be raised to a power. Enter the base value in the larger box to the left using your keyboard. If you enter a letter for a variable, it will automatically be displayed in italics.
6. 
   6
   Enter the number or variable for the exponent. Enter this value in the smaller box to the right using your keyboard. If you enter a letter for a variable, it will automatically be displayed in italics.

   • You can also enter the base and exponent in the Equation field entirely from the keyboard by typing first the base, then the caret (^) symbol, then the exponent. When you hit Enter to close the Equation field, the caret will disappear, and the exponent will appear as a superscript.
   • The Equation Editor in Word 2007 and later treats equations as Word text, using a special math font.
Advertisement

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Using the Equation Editor (Word 2003 and earlier)

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Open the Equation Editor. Click "Object" on the "Insert" menu. Select the "Create New" option from the Insert Object dialog box, then select "Microsoft Equation 3.0."
2. 
   2
   Click the Exponent button on the bottom row of the Equation toolbar. This will display a template with a space for the base and a space for the exponent.
3. 
   3
   Enter the value of the base. Enter this value in the larger box to the left using your keyboard.
4. 
   4
   Enter the value of the exponent. Enter this value in the smaller box to the right.

   • The Equation Editor in Word 2003 and earlier treats equations as objects, rather than text, but you can change the font and its size, format, and position as you would regular text.
Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Tips

• In addition to representing mathematical exponents, you can use this method to represent ionic charge, which is written as raised plus or minus signs (with either a number denoting how many electrons were gained or lost or with a sign for each extra or missing electron) after the chemical symbol. Do not use superscript numbers to represent multiple atoms of an element in a molecule; for that, use subscript numbers.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Advertisement

Video