The fastest way to delete a page depends on what's on it
If the page is mostly blank, select all the blank space and press Delete. If the page contains text or images you want to keep, you need to delete only the content on that page, not the page itself — Word doesn't have a "delete page" button because pages are just how the software displays your content, not separate objects you can remove.
The method changes based on whether you're deleting a page full of text, a page with a page break, or a page that's blank because of extra spacing or line breaks. Each situation has a different fastest route.
Key Takeaways
- Blank pages are usually caused by extra paragraph marks, page breaks, or spacing — find what's creating the blank space and delete that instead of trying to delete the page itself.
- To find what's on a blank page, turn on formatting marks by pressing Ctrl+* (Windows) or Cmd+* (Mac) so you can see paragraph marks and page breaks.
- If a page break is creating the blank page, click on the page break line and press Delete to remove it.
- If you want to delete a full page of text, select all the text on that page and press Delete — the page will collapse once the content is gone.
Turn on formatting marks to see what's creating the blank page
Blank pages almost always exist because of something you can't see: extra paragraph marks, a page break, or spacing set too large. To find out what's there, press Ctrl+* on Windows or Cmd+* on Mac. This turns on formatting marks — small symbols that show paragraph marks (¶), page breaks, tabs, and spaces.
Once formatting marks are on, look at the blank page. If you see a line that says "—Page Break—", click on that line and press Delete. If you see multiple ¶ symbols stacked on top of each other, click before the first one and drag to select all of them, then press Delete. If you see spacing that looks like blank area, select it and delete it the same way.
After you delete what's causing the blank space, press Ctrl+* (or Cmd+*) again to turn formatting marks back off. The blank page should be gone.
Delete a full page of text by selecting and removing the content
If the page contains text or images you want to remove entirely, click at the very beginning of the page and drag to select everything on it, or use Ctrl+A to select all and then manually deselect what you want to keep. Once the page content is selected, press Delete. Word will collapse the page and move the content that was on the next page up.
If you have multiple pages and want to delete a specific one in the middle, it's easier to click at the start of that page, hold Shift, and click at the end of it to select the whole page at once. Then press Delete.
Remove a page break that's forcing content onto a new page
Sometimes a page break — a manual instruction to start a new page — is creating an unwanted blank page or pushing content where you don't want it. With formatting marks turned on (Ctrl+* or Cmd+*), you'll see a line labeled "—Page Break—" where the break is.
Click directly on that page break line and press Delete. The content that was on the next page will move up and fill the space. If you don't see a page break line but the page is still blank, the blank space is probably caused by paragraph marks or spacing instead.
Delete extra paragraph marks that are creating blank space
Each time you press Enter in Word, you create a paragraph mark (¶). If you press Enter multiple times in a row, you create extra blank lines. These add up and can push content onto a new page or create a blank page by itself.
Turn on formatting marks (Ctrl+* or Cmd+*), then look for stacks of ¶ symbols. Click before the first extra one and drag to select all the extra marks, then press Delete. Usually you only need one paragraph mark between sections, so delete all but one.
This is especially common at the end of a document — if your last page is mostly blank, scroll to the very end, turn on formatting marks, and delete extra paragraph marks there.
Check spacing and line height settings if the page is still blank
Sometimes a blank page exists because the spacing before or after paragraphs is set too large, or the line height is set to a value that creates too much space. To check this, turn on formatting marks and click on the blank area. Then go to the Home tab, click the small arrow next to the Paragraph section, and look at the spacing values.
If "Spacing Before" or "Spacing After" is set to a large number (like 24pt or higher), lower it. If "Line Spacing" is set to "Double" or a large multiple, change it to "Single". These changes will usually collapse the blank space and remove the unwanted page.
Use Find and Replace to remove multiple page breaks at once
If your document has many page breaks you want to remove, Find and Replace is faster than deleting them one by one. Press Ctrl+H (Windows) or Cmd+H (Mac) to open Find and Replace. In the "Find" field, type ^m — this is 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 in the document at once. Be careful with this — if you have page breaks you want to keep, use "Replace" one at a time instead of "Replace All" so you can skip the ones you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Word keep creating a blank page at the end of my document?
The most common cause is extra paragraph marks at the end. Scroll to the very end of your document, turn on formatting marks (Ctrl+* or Cmd+*), and delete any extra ¶ symbols after your last sentence. You should only have one or two at most.
I deleted content but the blank page is still there — what do I do?
Turn on formatting marks to see what's left on that page. Usually it's a page break or extra paragraph marks. Click on the page break line or select the extra marks and press Delete. If nothing appears to be there, try selecting the entire blank page and pressing Delete — sometimes hidden formatting will go away.
Can I delete a page without deleting the content on it?
No — pages in Word are not separate objects. They're just how the software displays your content. If you want to keep the content but move it somewhere else, cut it (Ctrl+X), click where you want it, and paste it (Ctrl+V). The old page will collapse once the content is gone.
What's the difference between a page break and just pressing Enter a lot?
A page break (—Page Break—) is a manual instruction that forces a new page to start at that exact spot. Pressing Enter creates paragraph marks that add space but don't force a page break. Page breaks are useful for chapters or sections; extra paragraph marks usually just create unwanted blank space.
Will deleting a page break mess up my document formatting?
Only if that page break was there for a reason — like to start a new chapter on a fresh page. If you're deleting a page break that's creating an unwanted blank page, removing it will just move the content up, which is usually what you want. If you delete it and regret it, press Ctrl+Z to undo.