Excel's spell check works differently than in Word — you have to start it manually

Excel does not check spelling as you type the way Word does. Instead, you run spell check when you are ready, and it scans your entire sheet or just the cells you selected. The feature lives in the Review tab at the top of the screen, and it catches misspelled words, repeated words, and words not in Excel's dictionary.

Unlike Word, Excel will not underline mistakes with a red squiggle as you work. This means you can miss spelling errors unless you remember to run the check before you share the file or print it. The trade-off is that spell check does not slow down your typing or distract you while you are entering data.

Key Takeaways

  • Open the Review tab, then click Spelling to start a manual spell check of your entire sheet.
  • Excel checks only the active sheet, not all sheets in your workbook, unless you select multiple sheets first.
  • When Excel finds a word it does not recognize, you can change it, ignore it, or add it to the dictionary so it stops flagging that word.
  • You can select specific cells before running spell check if you want to check only part of your sheet.

How to open spell check in Excel

Click the Review tab at the top of your Excel window. You will see a row of buttons below it. Look for the button labeled Spelling — it usually has an ABC icon with a checkmark. Click it once.

Excel will scan your sheet starting from the top-left cell and moving right and down. If it finds no errors, a small window will pop up saying "Spell check complete." Click OK and you are done. If it finds words it does not recognize, a larger dialog box will open showing you each one.

What to do when Excel finds a word

When the spell check dialog opens, it shows you the word Excel flagged at the top, the cell location where it found it, and a list of suggested corrections below. You have four choices for each word.

Change replaces the word with the suggestion highlighted in the list. Click the suggestion you want, then click Change. If you want to change every instance of that word in the sheet, click Change All instead — this is useful if you misspelled a name or term that appears multiple times.

Ignore skips that word and moves to the next one. Use this if the word is spelled correctly but Excel does not recognize it — for example, a brand name or a person's name. Ignore All skips every instance of that word in the sheet without asking again.

Add to Dictionary tells Excel to stop flagging that word in any future spell checks. Use this for words you use regularly that are not in Excel's standard dictionary, like a company name or technical term. Once you add a word, it stays in your dictionary even after you close Excel.

Checking only part of your sheet

If you want to check spelling in only certain cells, select them before you open spell check. Click the first cell you want to check, then hold Ctrl and click other cells, or click and drag to select a range. Once your cells are highlighted, open the Review tab and click Spelling. Excel will check only the cells you selected.

This is useful if you are working on a large sheet and you have already checked most of it. You can select just the new rows or columns you added and run spell check on those instead of scanning the entire sheet again.

Checking multiple sheets at once

By default, spell check scans only the sheet you are currently viewing. If your workbook has multiple sheets and you want to check them all, right-click on any sheet tab at the bottom of your window and select Select All Sheets. All sheet tabs will turn white to show they are selected. Now when you open spell check, it will scan every sheet in order.

After spell check finishes, right-click a sheet tab again and click Deselect All Sheets to go back to working on one sheet at a time. This prevents you from accidentally making changes to multiple sheets when you only meant to edit one.

Words Excel's dictionary does not include

Excel's built-in dictionary contains common English words but not proper nouns, technical terms, or words from other languages. If you use industry-specific vocabulary, product names, or names of people and places, spell check will flag them. You have two options: ignore them each time, or add them to your dictionary once so Excel remembers them.

Adding words to the dictionary is permanent on your computer. If you share your file with someone else, their copy of Excel will still flag those words unless they add them to their own dictionary. If you are working on a shared document where multiple people need the same custom words recognized, it is often easier to just use Ignore All each time rather than ask everyone to update their dictionary.

Why spell check might miss something

Excel's spell check catches misspelled words, but it does not catch every error. It will not flag a word that is spelled correctly but used in the wrong context — for example, "their" instead of "there". It also does not check formulas, only the text and numbers you see in cells. If you have a formula that produces text, spell check will check the result, not the formula itself.

Spell check also does not catch spacing errors, capitalization inconsistencies, or grammar mistakes. If you need to catch those kinds of errors, you will need to read through your sheet manually or copy the text into Word, which has more advanced checking features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo a change I made during spell check?

Yes. If you click Change or Change All and then realize it was wrong, press Ctrl+Z when ready to undo. You can undo multiple changes in a row by pressing Ctrl+Z several times. Once you close the spell check dialog, undoing becomes harder, so fix mistakes right away if you notice them.

What if spell check keeps flagging the same word and I do not want to add it to my dictionary?

Click Ignore All. Excel will skip that word for the rest of the spell check session without adding it permanently to your dictionary. The next time you run spell check, it will flag the word again, but Ignore All is faster if you only use the word occasionally.

Does spell check work the same way in Excel Online as in the desktop version?

Excel Online does not have a built-in spell check feature. If you need spell check, you must use the desktop version of Excel on your computer. You can read Excel as part of Microsoft 365, or use the free Excel app available from Microsoft's website.

Can I change the language spell check uses?

Yes. Select the cells you want to check, then go to Review and click Spelling. Before you start, look for a language dropdown menu in the spell check dialog. Click it and choose your language. Excel will then check spelling against that language's dictionary instead of English.

What happens to my custom dictionary if I uninstall Excel?

Your custom dictionary is stored on your computer, not in Excel itself. If you uninstall and reinstall Excel, the dictionary usually stays. However, if you uninstall Excel and delete all related files, you will lose it. To be safe, write down any words you add regularly so you can add them again if needed.