The fastest way to delete a line

To delete a line in Word, click anywhere on that line, then press Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows) or Command+Shift+K (Mac). The entire line disappears. If that keyboard shortcut does not work on your version, click at the start of the line, hold Shift, click at the end, and press Delete or Backspace.

This works for any line — a paragraph of text, a single word, a blank line, or a line that is part of a numbered or bulleted list. Word treats a line as whatever text ends with a paragraph mark, which is the invisible character at the end of each line when you press Enter.

If you want to delete multiple lines at once, click at the start of the first line you want gone, then hold Shift and click at the end of the last line. Everything between those two points will be selected. Then press Delete or Backspace, and all selected lines vanish.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows) or Command+Shift+K (Mac) with your cursor anywhere on a line to delete that entire line at once.
  • If the keyboard shortcut does not work, select the line by clicking at the start, holding Shift, and clicking at the end, then press Delete.
  • To delete multiple lines, select from the start of the first line to the end of the last line, then press Delete.
  • Deleting a line removes the text and the paragraph mark that ends it, so the next line moves up to fill the space.
  • You can undo any deletion by pressing Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac) when ready after.

Selecting and deleting lines by hand

If you prefer not to use keyboard shortcuts, you can delete a line by selecting it first. Triple-click anywhere on the line you want to remove, and Word will highlight the entire paragraph. Then press Delete or Backspace, and the line is gone.

Triple-clicking is reliable because it selects the whole paragraph, including the paragraph mark at the end. This matters because a line in Word is defined by that invisible paragraph mark — when you delete it, the next line moves up.

For multiple lines, click at the very start of the first line (before the first letter), then drag down to the end of the last line you want to remove. You can also click at the start, hold Shift, and click at the end. Once the lines are highlighted in blue, press Delete.

Deleting blank lines

Blank lines are common in Word documents — they appear when you press Enter without typing anything. To delete a blank line, click on it and press Backspace or Delete. The blank line vanishes, and the text above and below it move closer together.

If you have many blank lines in a row, select all of them at once by clicking on the first blank line, holding Shift, and clicking on the last blank line. Then press Delete to remove them all in one action.

Blank lines are useful for spacing sections of a document apart, but they can accumulate by accident — especially if you copy and paste text from another document or email. If your document has too much white space, checking for and removing extra blank lines can tighten it up.

Deleting lines in lists and tables

In a bulleted or numbered list, deleting a line works the same way: click on the line and press Ctrl+Shift+K, or select it and press Delete. The line disappears, and the remaining items renumber or rebullet automatically.

In a table, deleting a line is different. If you want to remove a row from a table, right-click on any cell in that row, then click "Delete Rows" from the menu that appears. Word will remove the entire row and shift the rows below it up. To delete a column instead, right-click and choose "Delete Columns".

If you only want to delete the text inside a table cell without removing the cell itself, click in the cell, select the text, and press Delete. The cell stays in place but becomes empty.

Undoing a deletion

If you delete a line by accident, press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac) when ready. Word will undo the deletion and bring the line back. You can undo multiple deletions in a row by pressing Ctrl+Z or Command+Z several times.

Word keeps a history of your recent changes, so even if you delete something and keep working, you can usually undo it. However, if you close the document without saving, Word will not remember the deletion — the document will revert to the last saved version.

Why Word sometimes does not delete what you expect

Sometimes you select what looks like a line and press Delete, but nothing happens. This usually means you selected text but not the paragraph mark at the end of the line. To fix this, make sure your selection extends all the way to the end of the line, past the last letter.

Another reason a line might not delete is if the document is protected or in read-only mode. If you see a message saying the document is read-only, click "Edit Document" or "Enable Editing" at the top of the screen. Then try deleting again.

If you are trying to delete a line in a header, footer, or text box, the process is the same — click on the line and press Ctrl+Shift+K or select and press Delete. Headers and footers behave like regular text once you click into them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a line without selecting it first?

Yes. Click anywhere on the line and press Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows) or Command+Shift+K (Mac). The entire line deletes without you having to highlight it. This is the fastest method if the keyboard shortcut works on your version of Word.

What is the difference between pressing Delete and pressing Backspace?

In Word, Delete and Backspace do the same thing when you have text selected — both remove the selected text. If you have a cursor but nothing selected, Backspace deletes the character to the left of the cursor, and Delete removes the character to the right. For deleting whole lines, either key works the same way.

If I delete a line, does it affect page numbering or formatting?

Deleting a line removes the text and the paragraph mark, so the next line moves up. If your document uses automatic page breaks or numbering, Word will recalculate those automatically. Numbered lists will renumber themselves. Formatting tied to that paragraph (like indentation or spacing) disappears with the line.

How do I delete a line in the middle of a paragraph without breaking it into two paragraphs?

You cannot delete a line in the middle of a paragraph without breaking it, because a line in Word is defined by the paragraph mark at its end. If you want to remove text but keep the paragraph together, select just the text (not the paragraph mark) and press Delete. The remaining text will stay in the same paragraph.

Can I delete multiple non-consecutive lines at once?

Not in a single action. You have to delete them one at a time or select groups of consecutive lines. However, you can use Find and Replace to remove specific text across the whole document at once — press Ctrl+H, type what you want to remove, leave the Replace field empty, and click Replace All.