The fastest way to remove a page
To delete an entire page in Microsoft Word, select all the content on that page and press Delete. The method you use depends on what's on the page — a page full of text behaves differently from a page that exists only because of spacing or a page break.
The most reliable approach is to click at the very beginning of the page you want to remove, then hold Shift and click at the end of that page. This selects everything on it. Then press Delete or Backspace. If the page disappears, you're done. If a blank page remains, that page exists because of a formatting element — usually a page break or extra paragraph marks — and you'll need the method described in the next section.
Key Takeaways
- A page full of text deletes when you select all its content and press Delete, but a blank page usually means a page break or extra spacing is holding it in place.
- Show formatting marks by pressing Ctrl+* (Windows) or Cmd+* (Mac) so you can see and delete the invisible elements creating blank pages.
- Page breaks appear as a line labeled "Page Break" when formatting marks are visible — click on that line and press Delete to remove it.
- If a page won't delete, it may be the last page in the document, which Word sometimes protects; delete the content instead and leave the empty page.
Deleting a page that's mostly blank or created by a page break
When you delete content but a blank page remains, an invisible formatting element is holding that space. To see what it is, press Ctrl+* on Windows or Cmd+* on Mac. This shows all formatting marks — paragraph symbols, spaces, tabs, and page breaks appear as visible characters.
Look for a line that says "Page Break" or a series of paragraph marks (¶). Click directly on the page break line to select it, then press Delete. If you see multiple paragraph marks stacked together, click at the start of the first one and drag to select them all, then press Delete. Usually only one or two need to go.
After you delete the page break or extra marks, press Ctrl+* again to hide the formatting marks and see your document normally. The blank page should be gone.
When a page break is intentional but in the wrong place
Sometimes you inserted a page break deliberately — to start a new chapter or section — but it's now in the wrong spot. Find it the same way: show formatting marks with Ctrl+* or Cmd+*, locate the "Page Break" line, click on it, and press Delete.
If you need the page break but want it in a different location, delete it first, then position your cursor where you actually want the new page to start. Go to the Insert menu, select Page Break, and Word will create one there instead. This is faster and cleaner than trying to move an existing break by cutting and pasting.
Removing extra spacing that creates unwanted pages
Sometimes a page exists because of large spacing between paragraphs rather than an actual page break. Show formatting marks to see this — you'll notice many paragraph symbols (¶) in a row with nothing between them. This usually happens when someone pressed Enter many times instead of using the spacing settings.
Select all those empty paragraph marks by clicking before the first one and dragging to the last, then press Delete. If you want to keep some space between sections, use the paragraph spacing settings instead: select the paragraph above the space, go to Format > Paragraph, and set spacing before or after in points rather than creating it with blank lines.
Deleting the last page when it won't go away
Word sometimes locks the final page of a document and won't let you delete it entirely. If you've removed all content but a blank page remains at the end, select whatever is on that page — even if it's just a single paragraph mark — and press Delete. The page will stay, but it will be truly empty.
This is a Word limitation rather than something you did wrong. The document must always have at least one page, so the last page cannot be removed. You can leave it blank, or you can add a footer or page number to make use of it.
Using Find and Replace to remove page breaks quickly
If your document has many unwanted page breaks scattered throughout, Find and Replace is faster than hunting for each one manually. Press Ctrl+H to open Find and Replace. In the Find field, type ^m (the code for a manual page break in Word). Leave the Replace field empty and click Replace All. Word will remove every manual page break at once.
Be careful with this approach — it removes all page breaks, including ones you may have wanted. If you're unsure, click Replace instead of Replace All so you can review each one before it's removed. After you finish, close Find and Replace and review your document to make sure the pages now break where you want them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a blank page keep coming back after I delete it?
A page break or extra paragraph mark is recreating it. Show formatting marks with Ctrl+* and look for a "Page Break" line or stacked paragraph symbols. Delete those, not just the blank space. If it still returns, a table or image at the end of the previous page may be pushing content onto a new page — try reducing spacing around that object.
Can I delete a page without losing the text on it?
Not in the traditional sense — if you delete the page, the text goes with it. If you want to keep the text but move it elsewhere, cut it first (Ctrl+X), navigate to where you want it, and paste it (Ctrl+V). Then delete the now-empty page.
What's the difference between Delete and Backspace?
In Word, they work the same way when you have text selected. Delete removes content to the right of your cursor when nothing is selected; Backspace removes content to the left. For deleting pages, either key works fine.
How do I delete a page in the middle of my document without affecting the pages around it?
Select only the content on that page — click at the start, hold Shift, and click at the end — then press Delete. The pages before and after will flow together. If you want them to stay separate, insert a new page break after the deletion by positioning your cursor and going to Insert > Page Break.
Why can't I delete the very last page?
Word requires every document to have at least one page. You can delete all the content on the last page, but the page itself will remain. This is by design and cannot be changed.